Maximum Ride: Spike
by OwlsWingProductions
Summary: This is book 3 of my series! Spoilers for books 6 & 7. Fax. WARNING!: This may contain content that is too dark and/or inappropriate for younger viewers, please read with caution. Other then that, enjoy the latest adventure in my MR series! -Owl.
1. Prologue: Misery

I can't believe I'm on **Book Three**! :D  
Now time for the formalities. For all of you who are new around here, go to my profile and read books 1 & 2. For all of you who have been patiently reading through my stories; What's up? It's me, Owl, and I wanted to let you guys know that the crossover will be starting very soon! In the next book actually, so you'll most definitely be getting tidbits and such as we make our way through this book!  
"Talking."  
_"Thinking."_  
_"Voice, because Fanfiction doesn't always do the underlined print :P."_  
Max-14, Orange-brown wings w/ cream-colored underside. (peregrine falcon/Barn Owl)  
Fang-14, Black wings (Forest Raven)  
Spike-15, Red-orange wings with black tips (Red Kite)  
Iggy-12, Blue, grey and white wings (Western Scrub Jay)  
Nudge-10, Gold wings with black tips (Goldfinch)  
Gazzy-8, Brown, black and gold wings with a few white dots (Kestrel)  
Angel-6, Pure white wings (Snow Petrel)  
Total- Gray with white speckles (I love that word! Speckles! ^.^)  
Ella - 13, Human.  
Ari - 10, Eraser-pup, golden-brown fur.  
Comments, Suggestions and/or praises (hopefully) are very welcome, but I don't believe people should be mean so no Flame's!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, So you can't sue! Story Time!**

_**Maximum Ride: Spike - Prologue: Misery**_

Everything hurt. I couldn't open my eyes, but I could hear a voice and other muffled sounds around me. I wrestled with the panic bubbling in my gut before finally pinning it and doing a systems check.

I couldn't move a muscle, my head was killing me, my hair was matted with what felt like blood and I was aware of a tube lodged in my throat.

The panic slammed into me and I frantically tried to pull it back down, but the rapid beeping of the heart monitor made it grow and consume me. Where was everyone? Where was I? Is Max okay? Fang? The kids? The others?

An icy feeling filled me to the core as I heard the familiar snap of rubber gloves and the nauseating smell of disinfectant. The hushed hums and chirps of medical machines tracking my every bodily function and a stinging in my arm that alerted me of the IV there.

"You're awake." A voice noted calmly. I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman speaking. It sounded like they were talking to me through several layers of cotton. "It's okay. We aren't like the amateurs that handled you before. We know you're special. We're going to take good care of you." The voice said, then an icy liquid seeped into my hair and I wondered if they were cleaning the blood off.

"You see, Spike." The voice continued. "You're among friends. Admirers even. We're here to take care of you. We know you've been treated badly in the past, but trust me, it will never happen again."

I swallowed uncomfortably as everything came crashing back at once: The fighting, the screaming, the explosion. It had been chaos. And the worst part was, I didn't even know if I still had a Flock to find after I escaped. If I escaped.

"Don't worry, Spike." The voice came again, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You're very special and we're going to take very good care of you."

I shuddered and tried to say something, anything, but no sound came out. I could feel we were moving, felt and sounded like we were in a big van, or something, on a bumpy road, and a small drop of fear slid into my stomach and pooled out until it consumed me in a tag-team with the burning panic that swamped over me.

"Sleep now. You'll need your rest." The voice soothed as I felt something prick my arm that wasn't occupied by an IV. "Sleep and when you wake up, Dr. Morris will be waiting for you."

I tried to stay awake, I tried to wonder who Dr. Morris was, but whatever they injected to my bloodstream was pulling me under and after about five minutes of struggling, it dragged me down completely.


	2. Desert Heat

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 1: Desert Heat_**

I'm a girl of extremes. When I love something, I'm like a little puppy. When I'm cranky, I'm like a whole hive of wasps. And when I'm angry, I'm like a mama bear with a predator after her cubs: Dangerous.

I say this because lately, it seemed, my life had been all about extremes. Like now, for instance. I was soaring a thousand feet in the air, with my beloved Flock. Miles of sand stretched out in all directions and the African sun would have burned our backs had we not been stopping every half-hour to put sun-screen on. We had just started flying again five minutes ago, leaving behind hundreds of little feathers that fell off when we took flight.

With the beginning of Spring came the lovely experience of molting. Spike, Fang and I - the only ones in our Flock who had hit puberty yet - would spend all of Spring up to our elbows in feathers. Iggy - the poor kid - had also began molting, hitting puberty.

He and Fang had been spending more time together each day and I could tell that Iggy was having a hard time getting used to everything around him. Being human and bird, puperty brought changes both animalistic and human to all of us - as we learned the hard way. Like a human Iggy was more clumsy, awkward and confused about the changes that were happening to him. Like a bird, his senses were growing stronger and sharper and he was beginning to feel the whole 'Alpha male, Alpha female' thing.

It's pretty obvious who alpha female is, me being the leader of the Flock and all, but I had never given much thought to the 'Alpha male' position until recently. I mean, obviously it's Fang, he is the oldest and strongest guy in the Flock, but I couldn't help notice how Iggy had quickly fallen into step behind him - metaphorically, of course. It was like, all of a sudden he had this deep respect for Fang. He was always standing by Fang - both metaphorically and literally - and I couldn't help but wonder what their silent-guy-language-agreement-thing was all about.

Anyways, we had been flying for hours across the desert in the hot sun and while flying for so long was a rush well worth it, we were all starting to feel a little flight-weary. Our pace had been noticeably slower when we took off from our last break and I was glad that we would reach our stop before too long. The others deserved the break and we only had one water bottle left in the packs.

"Max!" Iggy called over to me. "Why did they name themselves Chad? I mean, Chad. It's like naming an entire country Britney or Trey. I don't get it."

"Don't be ignorant, Ig." I shook my head slightly and crossed my arms even though he couldn't see it. "It's not like all the people there named themselves that."

"Why not? We named ourselves." Nudge chirped. "Well, I guess that's not all true. I mean, you named Angel and Gazzy because they were to little to pick their own names, and you helped me and Iggy, but you, Fang and Spike picked out your own names, all by yourselves."

"Only 'cause we're special." I gestured to her eleven-foot wingspan. "And since we're on the subject of countries; how many of you actually remember all of them?" I raised an eyebrow as I looked over my shoulder at them. Iggy shrugged, Nudge looked thoughtful as she tried to remember and Gazzy wrinkled his nose at me.

"Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, Niger and Chad together are all about sixty-eight percent desert." Angel recited proudly as she counted them off on her little fingers. That's my girl.

"Whatever. It's still too much sand." Gazzy complained. "I wouldn't mind seeing a few cows chomping away at some grass, right about now."

"A-plus on the geography quiz, Angel. Gazzy, Iggy, try to cheer up a bit. I know you're both cranky from the long flight and other things-" Iggy scratched his back, making feathers fall from his wings and flutter down to the sand below and Gazzy shook sand out of his hair, his jacket looking flatter then it had this morning since I had taken all of the explosives out. "-But we're here to help people. For the first time in months we haven't had any crazy's coming after us and my mom, John, Paul and Bryan worked really hard to make sure we'd be safe on this trip. So let's try and be excited about helping people and being useful and safe and productive and-"

"I think they get it." Total commented from Spike's arms, who clunked him lightly on the head for interrupting. He was still cranky about leaving Akila behind back in the States, but he could have stayed, it's not like we forced him to come. I think he was just trying to get out of the Tux fitting Mom had scheduled for him.

"Alright, I'll stop with the lecture. But try to be happy while we're here. Safe and feeding the hungry and safe and giving medical care to people who need it and _safe_." I couldn't emphasize that last one enough.

Fang gave me one of his famous half-smiles - kind of like the smile Mona Lisa would have had if she were a guy. A teenage guy with longish scruffy hair, dark eyes, and a leather jacket. Mmm. My stomach flip-flopped as if I'd folded in my wings and plunged into a free-fall. Hello, Max the puppy.

I had exactly five seconds to enjoy puppy-life before I caught sight of several black dots in the distance. One of the dark specks raised a tiny dark toothpick.

"Incoming!" I shouted, flipping backwards and angling myself straight down. "They've got guns!"

"Quick! Get up and out of range!" I heard Fang yelling just as the first bullets streaked past all around me with angry hisses.

I spun, as I continued to fall, to avoid all the small chips of metal rushing by and when I finally pulled up, hovering just above the ground as I raced over the sand, I could see the sun-tanned faces of the men chasing after us on camels. Yes, camels. The men reloaded and then aimed their rifles at us again.

I closed in on them and swung my feet forward, slamming them into the chest of one of the front riders. He flew off the camel, his rifle flying to the side as he landed on the ground right in front of his buddy's camel.

There were about ten of these armed riders. They were no match for seven, butt-kicking bird-kids. Iggy flew in sideways and smacked one of them right off his camel and Gazzy landed on the back of a camel, folding his wings around the riders face so he panicked and fell.

I grabbed a gun and used it like a baseball bat, swinging and hitting one guy square in the gut, knocking him right off his ride. Unfortunately, I didn't rise in time.

I got plowed into by a panicky, galloping camel. It's head hit me in the stomach and I flipped over it's neck, landing backwards in the saddle.

I heard someone burst out laughing behind me and Nudge called out. "Awesome move, Max!" Weren't those little twits busy helping take these guys out?

My Indiana Jones moment didn't end there, the camel suddenly jerked to one side and I was lurched off the beast. My feet dragged in the sand, but I managed to grab a rein and hang on for dear life. My wings were useless because there was no room to stretch them out and my ankles were literally sanded raw. I was able to pull myself up hand over hand and eventually clambered into the saddle.

"Whoa, Nelly!" I croaked, gagging on the up-raised dust and grit. I gripped the saddle with my knees and pulled back with the reins. But the camel just stretched out it's neck and ran faster.

"Up and away, Max!" Fang yelled from somewhere above me.

I dropped the reins and popped to my feet, balancing as best I could in the saddle. I jumped as high as I could and snapped out my wings, rising into the sky faster then a speeding camel running across the desert.

I watched it race off, terrified, towards the nearest village. Someone was about to inherit a traumatized camel.

"Max, your ankles!" Gazzy pointed, making me turn as the rest of the Flock flew towards me. I looked down and saw the raw skin of my ankles was bleeding pretty badly.

"I need to check those out." Spike cut in before I could say anything, but I quickly shut her down.

"Let's do that at the village. The camel is already there so it's only about three minutes away, at most, and John's friend is waiting for us there. Besides, it's easier to take care of injuries when we aren't five hundred feet in the air." I waved her off, already drifting in the direction of the village.

Spike opened her mouth to object, but Fang stopped her. "Just go, it'll be faster if we just wait until we get to the village." He said. I smiled and nodded, taking the lead as we followed the camel tracks below.

"Ah, the Flock! Dr. Abate has told me so much about you!" A man with light brown hair peppered with a couple of white hairs here and there and hazel eyes grinned, walking into our tent and toward us. He reached out and shook my hand. "I'm Patrick Rooney the third."

"The third?" Nudge asked.

"The third." Patrick confirmed, looking at Nudge and Angel with a polite smile, making them both giggle and start whispering to each other on top of one of the thin mats in our tent. After landing on the outskirts of the village, we found a nurse waiting there for us and he brought us to our tent, telling us to get settled, eat something and relax while he went to find this Patrick fellow, also known as John's charming friend that would be telling us where we would be working while we were here.

"John asked me to watch over all of you while you are here and my nephew, Roger, is also here. He's training to be a doctor so he'll be in the medical tents most of the time, but if you need anything and you can't find me, just go to him." Mr. Rooney continued pleasantly.

"Thank you. But we're here to help, so what can we do first?" I asked, eager to get started. It was early in the day and after a long flight and a fight with camel riders, I was bumped with adrenaline. Besides, Spike had checked out my ankles and deemed my wrapping job good enough, so I was ready to go.

"Well, first I'll show you the village and then we can get each of you a job to do." He said, holding the tent flap open for us.

He led us through the village and we all took the time to look around and get a good look at everything. None of us had seen a refugee camp before. It was basically acres and acres of tattered tents and mud huts. Two larger tents stood aside from the others for donated medical supplies and food and Nudge and Iggy were set to work unpacking crates and sorting materials. Fang and Spike started helping set up medical exam stations. And Gazzy, Angel and Total were, essentially, the activities directors, playing with the refugee kids who were excited to see new kids and a cute little dog in the camp.

"People are going to be coming through here, getting vaccinated against hep B, tetanus, mumps, whatever." Roger, Patrick's nephew, explained. "The grown-ups may be suspicious and unsure, and a lot of the kids will be crying."

Okay, I could handle that. I took care of four, bird-kid toddlers. Piece of cake.

The tent I was being put to work at was for food. After the people got there shots and stuff, they walked across the dirt path between the two tents and lined up to get food from me. Which was why Roger was warning me about the crying children.

"Here are some sacks of rice. They weigh about sixty pounds each so get someone to help you move them." Roger continued. "The adults each get two cups of rice." He said, handing me a measuring cup. "And give the kids these fruit roll-ups. They've never seen them before so you might have to explain to them that it's food. Do you speak French?"

"Afraid not." I shrugged. "Any other way I could explain it?"

"Yes, of course. Just take one out of it's package and take a bite. That should get the message across. They might even understand you if you say 'food'." Roger reassured me.

He explained a couple of other things to me and then left me to my own devices. I spent the day measuring out two cups of rice every minute and handing out fruit roll-ups every moment in between. The sight of so many people, starving and suffering, really hits you in the gut. Especially when you've spent years in a dog crate, living through nightmares.

I was dazed by the time a little girl, no older then Angel, in a yellow dress came skipping up to me. She looked up at me sweetly and I crouched to be at her level, holding a fruit roll-up for her.

"Hi. Food?" I asked, keeping it simple in the hopes she'd understand. She took the fruit roll-up with a smile, unwrapped it and took a bite. I assumed that was all she wanted and was about to turn back to scooping rice, when she gripped my shirt sleeve.

"Merci pour tout les aides." She said.

"Uh, okay..." I trailed, unsure of how to react. She then reached out and gave me a hug, her thin arms wrapping around me and her small hand patting the back of my neck. When she pulled back, she beamed happily at me and gave a small wave before skipping away with her half-eaten fruit roll-up.

I couldn't help staring after her for a few seconds, but then I realized a man was still patiently waiting for his rice and quickly got back to work. Although, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help wondering what all that had been about.

Half an hour after that Fang appeared by my side and placed a hand on my waist, making me jump a little. I shot him a playful glare, which he returned with a smirk.

"I'm not much help in the medical exam stations. I can't use a needle and I don't have healing powers to practice with." He murmured, picking up a second cup to help me scoop.

"I don't mind the company. And I'm glad Spike is getting a chance to use her skills for more then just bullet holes and broken bones." I told him. "But if you really want to be helpful, you could go out the back of the tent and get another sack of rice. They should be lined up right behind the tent."

"Sure thing." He placed his cup on the table and walked past me on his way to the back of the tent, letting his knuckles gently brush my upper arm as he passed. I smiled and scooped out two cup-fulls of rice for the woman in front of me.

"All right, any second now..." The words were clipped, his accent thick. Mr. Chu leaned over the shoulder of his assistant , impatiently looking at a blank computer screen. And then, right on time, the screen flickered to life and glowed with a chart. Points started blinking faintly and small words began running along different lines: heart rate, temperature, blood oxygen saturation level and so on.

His assistant peered at the chart, then quickly typed in 'Maximum' on the line at the bottom of the screen. Mr. Chu soon became lost in reviewing the biological data streaming in from the microscopic monitor.

"Mr. Chu? You have a visitor, sir." Another assistant stood in the trailer doorway.

Mr. Chu went down the short, narrow hall to the small receiving room. A little girl in a yellow dress stood there, lazily twirling one of her braids in her fingers as she waited.

"Hello, Jeanne." Mr. Chu said. Jeanne sat in one of the chairs, waiting for her reward. "You were successful in your mission." He motioned to his assistant.

"Yes, Monsieur. I would never fail you." Jeanne said sweetly.

"Here is your reward." Mr. Chu took a lollipop from his assistant and gave it to Jeanne. She took it gladly and ripped the paper off. To fit in with the rest of the refugees, she was forced to live with their diet for months, and she was sick of it. She wanted the rich and tasty food she had before, when she wasn't on this stupid mission. Although, she was flattered to be considered important enough to handle the bird-children.

"Now, I want you to stay close to Maximum. Take this." Mr. Chu handed Jeanne a tiny ear-piece and she put it in. "I'll give you orders through that. Don't come back here until you're ordered to. We can't risk exposure. Stay close to Maximum and stand by for further orders."

"Of course, Monsieur." Jeanne nodded. By dinner tomorrow, Maximum would love her.

**AN:** Hey, guys! How've y'all been? Well, let me know when you drop a review! Let me know what you think of this chapter and make sure you R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	3. Dylan

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 2: Dylan_**

Worked until dusk an by the time my Flock had dragged their feet into the main tent where all the food was cooked we were all running on empty. I sat them down and got three large cups of water, telling them to share and get more when we ran out.

"Max." Patrick tapped me on the shoulder, holding a lumpy sack in his arms. I stood up from the bench-table I was sitting at with the Flock and faced him curiously. "Here's some bedding. It's not much I'm afraid, but it's more then what's already in your tent. You can do as you like with it, so long as we get it back, but do it quickly because dinners in ten minutes." He informed me and I took the sack from him.

"Thanks, Patrick. While I have you here, any idea who the camel platoon was?" I raised my eyebrows hopefully. With any luck it would be some desert thieves and nothing more, so we wouldn't have to pack up and leave before a crazy scientist came to cut our brains open.

"Don't know for sure, but some of the locals have a thing against Americans. It's complicated politics that I don't keep up with as much as I should, but we can talk about it later if you would like." He offered. I shook my head.

"No, I was just wondering. Thanks anyways." I watched him nod and leave quickly to help out someone else and then turned to my tired Flock. "Okay, guys, chows coming soon. I'm gonna go straighten these out, you wait here and drink some water." I told them. They perked up at the mention of food and started passing the cups around again as I weaved through the people crowding the tent.

I ducked through the flap of our tent nearby and dropped the sack on the ground. I opened it up and pulled out all the blankets and a couple pillows. I set aside smaller blankets for Nudge, Gazzy and Iggy, a normal sized blanket for Spike and then left the biggest blanket for Angel, Fang and I. After that I just threw the pillows down wherever it looked like they were needed and then I left the empty sack in a corner of the tent. I looked over my work to make sure everyone had their fair share and decided it was good enough for now.

I turned to leave and rejoin my Flock, but my nose hit something hard and I stumbled backwards. I would have fallen, had Fang's invisible arms not shot out and caught me, pulling me back to the chest my nose had been squashed against just a second before. I looked up and Fang's face suddenly appeared in my line of vision. He had gotten really good at controlling his power.

"Hey, there." He smirked down at me. "Thought I'd come offer my help, but you seem to have managed without me."

"Yes, I have. And now we have a Flock to get back to." I reminded him, my hands resting on his shoulders.

"Oh, what's your hurry?" Fang inquired, his voice low as he leaned in closer. "I can think of one or two things we could do, before heading back..." His dry lips brushed back and forth along my jaw.

"Come on, you know how much trouble they get into when we're not around." I said, trying to ease us apart.

"But they have Spike." He mumbled against my neck, mouthing the tender skin there. "And we haven't been attacked in almost a month." He moved up to my ear, pressing his lips against it and then nipping at it playfully.

"I know, but after the camel attack this morning I'm just a little worried and I have this horrible feeling that something bad is gonna happen and if I'm not careful I'll -" Fang interrupted me with a heavy sigh as he pulled away and curled his fingers around my upper arms, rubbing them gently.

"You're doing it again." He said, looking me in the eyes.

"Doing what?" I asked.

"Worrying about everything else when we finally have a moment alone together." He told me, sliding his hands down the length of my arm until they reached mine. I looked down at the ground. It had been happening a lot lately. Fang would come and find me for a few seconds alone and then I would ruin it by being worried and letting stupid things get to me.

"I'm sorry. I just -"

"I don't want an apology, Max. I want my girlfriend to make-out with me while we still have four minutes before dinner." He stopped me again, lifting my chin so I would look at him while he talked.

I relaxed into his arms with a small smile, submitting to him, and he grinned, rushing in to kiss me when -!

"Max, Fang! Dinner!" Spike called from someone outside the tent and Fang dropped his forehead onto my shoulder with a curse. I couldn't help it, I laughed a little.

I tangled my fingers through his hair and tugged at it until his face was level with mine. I kissed him, slow and sweet, savoring every touch. We pulled apart slowly, letting our lips linger for just a second longer, and then rested our foreheads together, breathing normally.

"Better?" I cocked an eyebrow at him and he grunted.

"Yeah, for now." He muttered and I laughed again. I laced my fingers through his and led him out of the tent. He would just have to wait.

"Pass the grub." Iggy said, holding out his bowl for another helping.

"The brown grub, or the yellow grub?" I asked, looking in the two pots in front of me.

"Either." He shrugged, so I took his bowl and plopped some brown grub in it. I handed the bowl back to Iggy and then settled back against Fang's chest.

Apparently, he had found a way to satisfy himself until the next time we were alone by pulling me down to sit between his legs and lean back against him while I ate. It was really a bit embarrassing, but I still felt guilty for earlier and no one seemed to mind the show of affection. In fact, Angel and Nudge were constantly smiling at us and giggling to each other. Needless to say, my cheeks were tinted pink all through dinner and it wasn't because of the fire in front of me.

I set my bowl of... whatever it was we were eating, aside and leaned back, looking up at the stars. There were a lot of shooting stars out here in the desert, no city lights to dim their brightness. Sure the fire in front of me was fueled by camel poop and the only one not wrinkling his nose was Gazzy, but the stars and moon were beautiful and we were warm and safe. What more could I ask for? It's almost everything I ever wanted. About the only things missing would be the ensured safety forever, my questions answered and the rest of my family that was waiting for us back in the States.

"You guys did great today." Patrick spoke up. "You must be exhausted."

"Um-hmm." I replied, still looking up at the sky and using Fang's shoulder as a support for my neck. Then I remembered something and looked over at where Patrick and Roger were sitting. "Hey, do either of you know a little girl in a yellow dress? Speaks French, randomly hugs strangers?"

"You met Jeanne today?" Roger looked up from his food. I shrugged.

"I never got her name." I explained.

"Well, I doubt it could be anyone else. Most other children in the village are to shy to approach new comers that aren't their own age." Patrick said. "No one really knows her story. Just that she came with a group of refugees from a distant city just a week ago. She doesn't talk much. Some of the doctor's think she lost her family in one of the civil wars that keep happening and the trauma keeps her from speaking." He shook his head sadly.

"There's a lot of children just like her, but they've had time here to make friends and settle in. Jeanne came and her family was already gone, so making friends and starting over here has been hard for her." Roger added to the story.

"That's so sad." Nudge murmured, dropping her chin into her hands.

Before anyone could say anything else, I caught movement in the corner of my eye and shot to my feet. I turned in the sand underneath my shoes, looking around in a complete circle before my eyes finally landed on what I was looking for:

Two figures were approaching our fire, coming from the desert.

"Max?" Spike asked as she and Fang stood up behind me. I didn't turn to look at her, I just kept glaring at whoever was coming at us. They could be more camel riders. Or M-Geeks. Or Jeb and one of his creepy scientist friends come to yell at me for not saving the world. Or so many other possibilities.

"Hello." Patrick stood up and walked over to stand beside me as the people got closer, we could see that there was a tall man and a tall kid. They were only dark silhouettes until they entered the circle of light our fire created around us.

"Hello, good evening." The man was ridiculously dapper and crisp with his clean-cut suit and slight accent.

"Can I help you?" Patrick asked after a moment of nothing but silence.

"Yes, actually." The man smiled politely. "I am Dr. Hans Gunther-Hagen. One of my companies is conducting research here. I donated the supply of vaccine your group is using."

Patrick quickly wiped off his hands on his shorts before holding one out to Dr. Gunther Hagen. "Oh, thank you so much!" He beamed. "I can't tell you what a difference it makes! We really appreciate your generosity!"

"It was my pleasure. It's truly a blessing to be able to share my prosperity with others." The doctor smiled again. Judging by his attire, manners and polite smile, I could tell this guy was some kind of billionaire. "But I also heard that you have the bird-children here." He said.

My eyebrows shot up and Patrick looked nonplussed and purposefully didn't glance at us. "Oh?" He managed, sounding just a little less then casual.

"Yes." The doctor's smile didn't waver and he sounded friendly and curious. "I'm most eager to meet them. They're known all over the world and yet very few know of them. I was hoping to ask the leader of the bird-children to come have dinner with me tomorrow night in my tent."

Seconds ticked by, Patrick and Roger said nothing and shared an uncertain glance. Finally, I stepped forward and eyed the two in front of me. "That would be me." I informed him calmly.

"Splendid!" The doctor positively glowed, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "I look forward to seeing you, then. But first, I'd like to introduce my companion. This is Dylan." He gestured and the tall kid stepped forward, taking my hand in his and kissing my knuckles.

I blinked, wondering just what teen heartthrob magazine this kid had jumped out of. He was about a quarter of an inch shorter then Fang, his thick, golden-blonde hair was shoved carelessly back from a tan forehead and expressive turquoise eyes looked at me with amazement. He was wearing worn jeans, beat-up and dusty boots and a suede jacket covered his clean white t-shirt.

There was no denying he was probably ready for the world's top twenty-five hottest guys contest. But Fang could blow him out of the water in all categories. Especially since this guy had yet to say one word and was still holding my hand awfully close to his lips.

"Um, hi?" I said awkwardly, pulling my hand free from his and he seemed to snap out of some sort of daze and blush.

"I was particularly hoping you could meet Dylan." The doctor went on. "He's been putting up with my company and I'm sure he would benefit from meeting young people like himself."

I shared a glance with Spike and she rolled her eyes. Of course this Dylan kid was nothing like us. He was clean, well fed and polite.

"Show them, Dylan." The doctor urged. Dylan looked self-conscious, but slowly took off his jacket to reveal broad shoulders and well-muscled arms. He was definitely heavier then any of us, but heavier didn't always mean stronger. He could lift all the weights he wanted, if he couldn't balance his weight in a fight, he was a dead man.

For a second I thought this kid was just gonna show me some scar from his childhood and try to claim that he was like us, but then Dylan sort of rolled his shoulders and extended his wings. All fourteen feet of them.

His feathers were brown to dark-brown and were lined with light-browns and off-whites at the very tips. Some black feathers stuck out at the bottoms and the undersider of his wings were a crisp, clean white with browns peppered here and there. His wings were also wider then ours, built for power rather then for speed.

"Where'd you come from, Dylan?" Fang's steady and calm voice gave nothing away as he wrapped his arm around my waist and stood beside me.

Dylan gave a kind of wry little smile. "A test tube." He said. "A lab."

Dr. Hunker-Gunther grinned brightly and clapped his hands. "Oh, you have so much to talk about! But it is late and we are all tired." He gave an old-fashioned bow. So that's where wonder boy got it from. "We look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

We were silent for several long moments after they left and I watched them go until I couldn't see them anymore. This was an interesting bit a news.

"Well." Patrick finally broke the silence. "I certainly never expected that! Did you know there were others like you?"

"I knew there were other mutants. But I never knew there were other bird-kids." I answered thoughtfully. I glanced around at my dazed Flock and, despite the shock we were given, most of them were yawning. I smiled at them. "Let's not worry about any of this right now. It's time for bed and I think we could all use the sleep." I bent down and scooped up Angel, who was falling asleep in her seat despite her best attempts to stay awake.

A few minutes later, we were all curled up together in our tent. Angel was nestled into a small spot between Fang and I, and Fang wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer. The others were curled up all around us, close enough to share body heat, and I could hear their even breathing all around me.

"Are you going alone?" Fang whispered in my ear, his closeness making me feel a little safer. I gave him a weak smile.

"I was thinking about taking Angel with me, see if she can pick anything up from either of those two, but I don't want to put her in danger like that." I whispered back and Fang nodded.

"Leave Angel here with me and take Spike with you. That way if anything goes wrong Angel can tell me and I can come kick the Dylan kid's ass." I could feel him smirk against my ear.

"You aren't angry about the whole kiss on the hand thing, are you? Because it was -"

"Go to sleep." He broke in, running his fingers through my hair over and over again. "Long day tomorrow. I don't trust those guys and I want you to be ready for them."

"Yeah, okay." I sighed quietly and snuggled closer. "Goodnight, Fang."

"Goodnight, Max."

Hours later my eyes snapped open at the sound of something rustling around outside the tent. I gently untangled myself from Fang and put a pillow next to Angel so she wouldn't wake from the sudden cold on one side.

I sat up and carefully got to my feet. Against one of the tent's walls was a silhouette of a person, lurking around the village in the middle of the night. The person suddenly stopped and seemed to turned towards our tent. It was a short figure, thick bodied - basically the exact opposite of everyone we had seen here. One of it's arms was raised, as if it were holding something, but I couldn't make out the outline of a gun.

Keeping my eyes on the silhouette, I crept over to the tent's opening. In one, quick movement I yanked the zipper and burst out, only to crash right into Spike.

"Ow..." Spike muttered as she sat up on the round, rubbing her lower back.

I sighed heavily. "Sorry, but you shouldn't be sneaking around so late at night."

Spike looked at me, a bit wide-eyed, and shook her head as she talked. "I wasn't sneaking around. I came out here because I saw someone's silhouette against the tent wall."

I raised my eyebrows at her, but then a twig snapped just on the other side of a tent standing next to ours. We glanced at each other and then scrambled to our feet. We peered around the corner of the tent and my eyes widened.

Mr. Chu?! What was he doing here?

Spike and I looked at each other, our expressions mirroring and then back at where Mr. Chu was standing, only to find that he was disappearing into a tent. I looked at Spike and nodded.

Together, the two of us ran silently up to the tent and burst through the flap, striking our best martial arts poses to defend ourselves in. That's when we realized it was empty. Not even a crate in the corner. The tent was just completely empty.

I looked at Spike again. So... We were either hallucinating or Chu had sneaked out somehow. I had to admit that I was too tired to accept either option right now.

"Let's get back to bed." I huffed, frowning as I left the tent with Spike. We made our way back to the tent and we crawled back into our beds. I flopped down and snuggled close to Angel and Fang.

Fang's arms suddenly wrapped around me and pulled me close. He didn't even bother to open his eyes as he whispered to me. "Everything okay?"

"Mm." I groaned softly. "Go back to sleep."

**AN:** I'd better get a review for this chapter 'cause I've had a rough day so far and I'm going to be spending the rest of it writing for you guys. Talk to me people! R&REVIEW! And also, Thank you to the reviewer from the first chapter, the fact that you stayed up all night to read my stories reminded me why I deal with the problems of computers and technologies to give you guys this story. Thank you for your support! R&R! -Owl.


	4. Suspicions Of A Bird-Girl

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 3: Suspicions Of A Bird-Girl_**

Angel skipped away from the main tent, excited for a new day in a new place. Today Mr. Rooney asked her and Gazzy to make the children happy while they were getting their shots, so they wouldn't cry. So, with a light breakfast in her tummy and a smile on her face, Angel skipped out of the main tent and headed off towards the medical exam stations.

She stopped every now and then to talk with some other kids her age or to just get a look at what people were doing. When she was about two thirds of the way there, she stopped. A little girl in a yellow dress sat behind a tent, sitting on a crate out of anyone's sight. Angel recognized her as the Jeanne girl that had come up to Max during breakfast and given her a hug.

_"She looks nice."_ Angel thought. She decided to take a minute to say hello and started towards the girl. As Angel got closer, her mind automatically tapped into Jeanne's thoughts.

_"...is so stupid! Why can't one of the other agents do this? I am a Gen 77 and I am highly more qualified to handle the larger missions. They already have Dr. Gunther-Hagen and his experiment on this assignment, why do they need me?"_ Jeanne's thoughts were a loud huff in Angel's mind.

Angel's eyebrows furrowed. What does all of that mean? And what's a Gen 77? And what does the man from last night have to do with anything?

"Hey!" Angel called out, running out from behind the corner of the tent and glaring at Jeanne. The girl looked surprised, but didn't know about Angel's powers and smiled sweetly.

"Bonjour." Jeanne said as Angel walked up to her.

"What's a Gen 77?" Angel demanded, trying to think of what Max would do in this situation.

"Je suis desole?" Jeanne asked, feigning ignorance.

"I know you speak English, I can read minds!" Angel snapped, getting annoyed at her innocent looks and clueless eyes.

Suddenly those eyes changed to shocked and then cold and calculating. Jeanne stood from her crate and glanced over the bird-child in front of her. Blonde curls, blue eyes and a stubborn expression met her eyes. This little brat could prove a problem if she reported back to Maximum.

Angel's eyes narrowed and Jeanne silently cursed herself for forgetting the new information she had acquired. Why had no one told her there was a mind-reader in the group?

"What can you prove?" Jeanne asked, her lips twitching into a smug smirk. "I'm just a poor, orphan refugee. No one will believe you."

Angel faltered. What could she prove? She could show Max what she saw and heard, but that didn't mean Jeanne had done anything bad. She could always come up with a cover story for everything. No, she had to get the answers out of her if she wanted to prove anything.

"What is Dr. Gunther-Hagen going to do?" She tried again, but Jeanne just rolled her eyes. "You better tell me or I'll - I'll get Fang! Yeah! Fang will make you talk if he thinks you're gonna hurt the Flock!"

"You mean if he thinks I'm going to hurt Max." Jeanne stuck out her bottom lip, her fake pout taunting. "Face it, they care more about each other then they do any of you. Shouldn't be long until they're just a cozy little Flock of two."

"That's a lie! Max would never do that and Fang's the best big brother ever!" Angel's voice raised a bit and tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Aw, how cute. But let's be honest with each other. You can't stand them together. All they think about is how they can be alone together, isn't it? Well, don't worry. You won't have to deal with any of it much longer." Jeanne's eyes sparkled with triumph and her accent had dissolved into nothing.

"W-what do you mean?" Angel stumbled, trying to stay focused, but she was shaken and angry by everything Jeanne was saying.

"Fang will be the first to die. And it will be soon."

I stepped out of the main tent, following after the rest of the kids with Max and Fang. Angel had gone ahead of us, excited to get to work, and Max had motioned to Fang and I to fall back as we walked. My guess would be that she wanted to talk about that special dinner tonight.

"Spike, Fang wants you to come with me tonight. And I think that's a good idea." Max said as the others ran ahead to get to their respective jobs.

"Cool. Girl's night out!" I grinned and Max laughed.

"I'll fill you in on the details later, right now we should get to -" Max was cut off by a high-pitched scream coming from behind a nearby tent.

It took about a second for us to break into a run, heading towards where the scream had come from. We rounded a corner and found ourselves behind a tent. In front of us Angel sat on top of Jeanne, who was on her back on the ground. Angel gripped Jeanne's shirt in one hand while the other one was raised and ready to strike.

"Angel!" Max shouted and, with her fist still in the air, Angel's eyes snapped up to look at us.

I jumped forward and pulled Angel up and off of Jeanne while Max and Fang got Jeanne to her feet. The girl's nose was bleeding and Angel glared at her as Fang and Max brushed the sand off her back and checked to make sure she wasn't too hurt. Finally, Max turned to Angel and I let her go.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Max interrogated. Angel looked up at her, wide-eyed and desperate.

"No! It wasn't me! She's lying! She can speak English! And- and she knows Dr. Gunther-Hagen! And she said -!" She cried, looking from Max, to me, to Fang and then back again, but Jeanne was sobbing about her bloody nose so it was awfully hard to hear much of anything.

"What are you talking about? Jeanne's a refugee, just like all the other natives." Max looked over at Jeanne who was crying louder and then looked down at Angel. "I don't have time for this. Go back to our tent and stay there until I come and get you."

"But, Max -!"

"Now, Angel." Max cut her off, her voice holding a sternness she never had to use on Angel before. Sure she would occasionally use it on the boys or Nudge, but this was the first time any of us had ever heard her use it with Angel.

Angel looked up at Max for a long moment and then hung her head and walked away, back towards our tent. Max sighed and turned to the crying girl.

"Hey, I'm really sorry Angel hit you, but you're gonna be okay." Max said patting the girl's shoulder. "Spike, could you take her to the exam stations with you so she can get checked out?"

"Non! Non!" Jeanne bawled, throwing her arms around Max's neck. Max tried to pry herself loose of the girl's arms, but each time she either wouldn't let go or would scream, so Max sat there for nearly half an hour, patting her back and trying to soothe her enough to let go.

When Jeanne finally decided she was well enough to let go of Max and come with me to the exam stations, I could hear Max muttering behind me as we left.

"Two more problems to add to the list."

"Do you guys think I was too hard on her?" Max shook her head worriedly that evening as we got ready for what was probably going to be a very interesting dinner.

"She has to learn that hitting other kids - especially human kids - isn't okay unless she has good cause." Fang assured her, but she was still pacing around the tent like a caged lion.

"Maybe I should have listened more. I mean, she said Jeanne knew Dr. Gunther-Hagen. What if she really was lying? Angel could show it to me. Maybe I should go talk to her. I -"

"Max." Fang stood and held Max by the shoulders. "You already tried talking to her earlier and she barely answered any of your questions."

"He's right, Max. I want to believe Angel's innocent as much as you do, but Angel refused to show you her memories earlier and she just kept saying that Jeanne was lying without showing us any proof." I reminded her. "She's just a kid and every kid makes mistakes. Let's go to dinner and if she's willing to talk when we get back, you can sit down and discuss it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Max sighed, but she still looked doubtful. Fang leaned over and kissed her hair and part of me couldn't help but think of how cute they were together.

"I know you're worried, but what can you do if Angel doesn't want to talk about it? Try not to let it bother you. Go have dinner and be sure to bring us back some food." He told her. They pecked each others lips and then I grabbed Max's arm, pulling her out of the tent.

"You're gonna have to wait, Lover-boy." I said.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Fang complained under his breath and I laughed.

"We'll be back later. Keep the kids out of trouble for me, okay?" Max asked and Fang nodded, quickly sneaking in one last kiss before Max lightly pushed him back and shot up into the sky. I joined her in a heartbeat and we flipped around to fly in the direction of the mystery-wonder-boy's residence.

Dr. G-H's crib was a huge ornate tent colored white and royal blue, complete with screen-covered windows, a covered window, and a strip of red carpet leading across the sand to the front entrance.

Max glanced at me and I shrugged. We walked up and, before we could even knock or anything, the flap was opened by a guy in a black tux and a white towel draped over one arm he held in front of him as he bowed to us.

Inside white and royal blue paper lanterns were strung all around, giving off light, and plush oriental rugs covered the floor, overlapping each other so there were no gaps. Sheet hung from the roof, dividing the entire tent into rooms and out of one of these said rooms walked our host, Dr. Gunther-Hagen.

"Ah, I see you brought a friend." He smiled, welcoming us with open arms. "Please, sit." He said, looking fashionable and elegant as he gestured to the round table in the center of the room. "Dinner will be served momentarily. I can't tell you how delighted I am to finally make your acquaintance. I've been following your history to the best of my ability, but I must say, you are very hard to keep track of."

After glancing around, memorizing all of the exits, we sat down next to each other at the table. Our chairs were like square, cushioned foot rests and the table was lowered to make up for the short chairs.

"Following our history? Do you know Jeb Batchelder?" Max raised an eyebrow quizzically.

He looked at her blankly, eyebrows slightly raised. "No, I can't say I've ever had the pleasure. Is he a friend of yours?"

"No."

That's when several servants came in, single file with a trays of food: Steaks, salmon, chicken, salads, rice, pasta, fruit, vegetables, potatoes, bread rolls and three pitchers filled with water, fresh juice and iced-tea.

"Please, help yourselves." Dr. G-H said as I subtly checked to make sure I wasn't drooling. "You probably require a great many calories, do you not?"

"I know I do." Max and I twisted in our chairs to see Dylan enter the 'room'. His golden-blonde hair was combed neatly and he looked clean and fresh, putting him two very large steps ahead of Max and I. Part of me expected a photographer to jump out of nowhere, rapidly snapping pictures and telling Dylan to work it.

"Hello, Max. Spike." Dylan nodded at me and then sat on another chair across from Max. I had a feeling that, in these two minds, I was just an accessory to the big picture that was Max. "Wow." Dylan continued. "Last night felt like a dream. I couldn't believe that you actually existed. And now here you are, and I'm not alone." His eyes were open and sincere, his expression as clear as his tanned skin. I watched both of the men carefully as I buttered a roll and picked out one of the steaks.

"What lab are you from?" Max asked abruptly, her mouth half-full of chicken and bread. I'm glad I wasn't the only one lacking in the table manners department.

Dylan's perfect brow wrinkled up. "Just some lab, up in Canada. I was a test-tube experiment, so I don't have parents like you, but Dr. Gunther-Hagen has been a good mentor to me." He took a bite from his salmon.

"How old are you?" I spoke up after sharing a glance with Max.

"Um, about eight months, I think." He looked to Dr. G-H for confirmation. He nodded. "There's been a lot to learn. I can't fly. I've been having trouble with a lot of things, actually." He laughed weakly and looked down at his plate sort embarrassed-like. I kind of felt sorry for him, but that didn't mean I trusted him. For all we knew, this was some big elaborate trap.

And then, after a short moment of silence, Max inhaled sharply and started choking on a large bite of chicken. This dinner was proving to be as interesting as I thought it would be.

**AN:** So, I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter. Not one. I'm going to forgive you guys for that because a couple of people Followed/Favorited my story. But this time around - since I am in no hurry at all to post the many chapters I have already written for this story - if I don't get some reviews, I won't post next week. So, R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	5. Batshit Company

_**Maximum Ride - Episode 4: Batshit Company**_

I inhaled and accidentally sucked a large lump of half-chewed chicken down the wrong way, setting off a coughing fit that had Spike patting my back, looking worried.

_"Made for me? My perfect other half? Are you fucking insane?!"_ My mind screamed, even as my eyes watered and I coughed and coughed, unable to take a drink of the water Spike was handing me because I was coughing.

"Can you breath?" Dr. G-H asked, looking concerned. "Do you need the Heimlich maneuver?"

"Heimlich me, and I'll punch you in the neck." I managed to choke out and then I drained the glass Spike had been holding for me.

Dylan had frozen, a cluster of red grapes in his hand. His eyes were wide and watchful, as if he actually gave a crap about what happened to me. And now I knew why.

_"You heard me, Max. Dylan was designed specially for you. It's why his appearance makes him look to be your age. Haven't you noticed that you're almost exact opposites? Opposites attract, Max. Relax and enjoy this. It is a special occasion, after all."_ The Voice chimed.

_"I don't care if you wrapped him in bacon, put a bow on his head and left him on my front porch! I don't know anything about him! And, besides, I have Fang!"_ I shouted back, shoving the Voice out of my head with the same walls I used against Angel.

I'd suspected Dr. G-H had an agenda. No one ever gave us anything just because we're dandy. Now I knew that it was sitting across from me, looking like a model from a magazine cover.

"Are you okay?" Dylan asked. I nodded and got ready to stand up. Time to get out of here.

_"Don't run away from destiny, Max. You and Dylan are meant to be together. Stick it out. Don't be a coward."_ The Voice sounded less chipper this time, so I stayed. Not because I was following orders from Jeb, but because the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to learn about our new threats, sitting across the table from me.

"So, if you're only eight months old, it'll take a while for you to learn stuff." I said, getting us back on topic. Again, Dylan focused his turquoise eyes on me.

"Maybe you could teach me some... Stuff." Dylan suggested softly and I snorted some juice up my nose. If this kid had not just explained he was eight months old that sentence could have very easily been a sexual innuendo. Even knowing his age I was still considering slapping him.

Spike seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she stared at Dylan, her head rested against her hand. After a moment of silence, in which I used a napkin to clean my face, Spike snapped out of her daze with a shake of the head and turned back to her food.

"That's a splendid idea!" Dr. G-H exclaimed. "Max would be the perfect person to teach you!"

"Oh, well, I don't know." I stepped in, back tracking as fast as I could. I could not get sucked into this. "What exactly would you want to learn?"

"Oh, um, well if..." Dylan hesitated, then his face hardened with determination. "What I would really like, that is, if you don't mind, is if I could see your wings. I've never seen anyone else with wings."

I thought about saying no, but then I remembered that I had seen his and it wouldn't be fair if I did. I took another bite of steak and the stood, walking away from the table until I had enough space to open my wings without hitting anything.

I shrugged off my jacket, letting it fall to the floor, and rolled my shoulders as my wings slowly extended. Both Dylan and Dr. G-H stared.

"They're beautiful." Dylan breathed admiringly, his voice sounding kind of hoarse. "You really do have them... Like me."

I folded my wings and sat down, my feathers ruffled with embarrassment. Their gazes seared my wings uncomfortably. "Actually, Dylan, _you_ have them like _me_. I've had mine for fourteen years, or so."

A smiled played around Dylan's perfectly symmetrical features. "Yes. I guess so. Either way, your wings are stunning. They're perfect."

Now I was really uncomfortable and slathered some butter onto my fourth dinner roll. Suddenly I just couldn't take it anymore and I wanted to get out of there, to get back to the others. Spike and I had been sneaking food into our pockets and our jackets probably weighed several pounds by now. I took one last bite and stood up.

"This has been great." I began, sliding my jacket back onto my arms. "But we really should get going and perform more humanitarian aid."

"Please stay." Dylan begged, jumping to his feet.

"Sorry, no can do." I said briskly, edging out of the space between my chair and the table.

"But, Maximum, we still have much to talk about." Dr. G-H stood up too.

"Duty calls." I said. "Spike?" In one smooth movement, the doctor stepped between us and the tent's entrance. Reaching into his shirt pocket, he whipped out a syringe.

"Just a minute, Max. It's not that simple." Gunther-Hagen stopped us, then continued on quickly when he saw Spike and I take up defensive stances. "No reason to be alarmed! This is just my clumsy way of demonstrating."

"Demonstrating what?" I snarled. "How to get your ass kicked in one easy step?"

"No. Demonstrating the wonders of modern science. Watch." He told us. And with that he rolled up his sleeve and swiftly injected _himself_ with the hypo. It was new, different and surprising to watch a scientist experiment on himself. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it at least a little bit.

Within moments Dr. G-H gasped, wide-eyed, sucking in breath. He groaned and staggered a bit, holding his throat, then sank into a chair that Dylan pulled out for him. Spike glanced at me and I hesitated a second before giving a small nod and sitting back down.

For several minutes Dr. Gunther-Hagen, hunched over, grimacing. Then he managed to speak in wheezy gasps. "I've injected... A rare strain of virus... that is... going to cause a rather... shocking reaction."

"What you science types do for fun." Spike said with false cheer. I had to agree with her. Having grown up in a dog crate in a lab, I associated the words 'rare virus' with hasmat suits. I wanted out of here.

He frowned. "Clearly not for fun. But for progress. Sometimes progress is... painful. Now, watch." Sweat broke out on his brow and his face turned bright red. All at once, his skin suddenly erupted in grotesque pustules.

"That's gross." Spike noted.

"I think I'm gonna puke." I told her, ready to lunge out of the way if his pustules exploded.

"Be patient, Max." He gasped out. "The miracle is just about to begin!" The only reason I didn't jump up and run out the door, was because I realized his pustules were already shrinking.

"To put it simply." Dr. G-H went on now that he wasn't gasping for air. "A number of my organs and systems - including the skin, brain, blood cells, thyroid, the entire immune system - are now working together to analyze the virus, produce the white cell and glandular response that will eradicate the virus, and circulate it through my body - almost instantaneously."

"Okay." I said slowly. "I can see how that could come in handy." I couldn't help thinking about the sick refugees we'd seen back at the camp. "Especially if it puts doctors like you out of business, I don't trust doctors."

Dr. G-H smiled. "You're starting to understand the big picture, Max. Because, you see, in the New World there will be no doctors. There will be no hospitals and certainly no insurance companies. You will be on your own. It will be you against the forces of nature. Do you understand what I mean, Max? Let me give you another example." He reached under the table and pulled out a meat cleaver.

Before we had a chance to disappear - fast - Dr. Batshit-Crazy hacked off his left pinkie finger. I screamed, Spike screamed and the madman screamed, in pain. He quickly recomposed himself to reassure us.

"Don't worry, ladies." He grunted. "My biological healing system is now working together with an advanced stem cell response. I'm able to reposition my severed finger." He took his missing finger and pressed it against the stub that was left, with a pained expression. "Or even more miraculously, were you willing to stay with me for the next several days, you could actually watch a new one grow right back in its place."

"That -That's... Something." Was all I could manage. Dylan looked completely unmoved by the whole thing. I guess people sprouting new limbs was common where he came from.

A moment later Dr. G-H held up his left hand and wiggled all five fingers intact. This guy was seriously starting to worry me and, after sharing a horrified glance with Spike, started slowly backing towards the door, ready to leap out of the way if he lunged at me with a needle. Or the meat cleaver.

"Okay, I think I get it." I said. "I also get that it all seems a little to good to be true."

"What makes you say that?" Dr. G-H asked, examining his healed finger with satisfaction.

"Well, that must be some pretty super-mega-powerful body chemistry happening there." I began, remembering all the failed experiments I had seen in my life. "If it can kill a virus in a single explosion, could it, say, accidentally kill you? Or could you accidentally grow an ear instead of a fingertip? How about a claw?"

Gunther-Hagen waved his hand dismissively. "Of course there are bugs that need to be worked out. Certainly, overactive autoimmune response can be tricky business, among other challenges. We're working on that, but in the meantime we have the pharmacology to counteract the side effects. My point is that once those bugs are solved, a world of possibilities opens up."

_"Not to mention a world of unpredictable chaos."_ I thought.

"In the beginning of the New World, we could be living like cavemen again." Dr. G-H continued. "We could be hunted by huge mutant carnivores, things we can't even imagine now. We need every weapon, every shield and every protection in our arsenal. And here's the important thing, Max. Remember this if you remember nothing else: We must be our own weapons." His eyes were focused intently on me. And through all this, all I could wonder was, what is it about my persona that draws every insane, power-hungry nutcase to me like a _magnet_?

"We will all have to survive on our own strengths. You can fly. You and your Flock have gifts. Dylan here is also gifted. But this kind of healing ability will be the difference between life and death in the New World."

"Wow." I said. Traditionally I would come up with some snappy and/or scathing remark to reply with, but this guy... unnerved me. "It's really impressive, but I don't understand what it has to do with me."

Dr. G-H straightened. "I asked you here to discuss a possible alliance between us, a partnership if you will. Your Flock and my companies, me and Dylan. With your natural abilities and the powers of science I'm unleashing, we can ensure the survival of humankind."

"Sorry, but we don't play well with others." I said, walking for the door again with Spike by my side.

"You seven are the most successful recombinant-DNA life-forms ever created." Dr. G-H went on, raising his voice a bit so we would here him as we walked. "And my companies are producing some of the most cutting-edge, daring science in the world today. Together we could achieve your mission to save the world."

I stopped in my tracks and Spike looked back at me questioningly. I turned to face him and I thought for a moment before answering. "I don't think you and I have the same definition of saving the world. I want to protect everyone. You just want to change them into something they're not and make this New World that everyone keeps talking about. In my mind, this New World doesn't look so great. It looks like someone took all the pain and suffering in the world and multiplied it by a million."

I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "Sorry, but I don't think we're the right partners for you."

And so, after the most diplomatic, sensible, logical, least obnoxious reply I'd ever given anyone in my entire life, I turned and walked away.

"This isn't goodbye, Max." Dr. Gunther-Hagen's voice called after me. "And that isn't your final answer."

My mind reeled as Spike and I drifted through the dry air of the desert, back to the camp. The African sun beat down on us and, for the first time, it felt crushing to me. I really wanted to stay and help the people here, but this place had suddenly become way too dangerous for us. What the Voice said about Dylan, Chu's appearance the night before and Dr. Hans's obsessive fondness for wielding needles and meat cleavers. It was time to leave again.

"What do you think about Dylan?" Spike was the first to break the silence, and I have to say, I'm glad she did.

"Poor sap." I said briefly, trying not to think about what the Voice had told me.

"I know we can't trust him, and personally I'm not really sure I want to, but he is like us. Do you think we should try and help him?" Spike looked doubtful, but I could understand where she was coming from.

"I don't know." I sighed. "I need more time to think before I can decide anything that has to do with him. Right now, I just want to get back to the others and get out of here before anymore trouble starts."

Spike nodded as we started descending from above the tents. The others ran out of our tent, looking up excitedly at us and greeting us when we landed. I quickly ushered them inside the tent and they all sat down, waiting to hear about our dinner experience.

"Okay. First, here." I pulled out everything from my pockets as Spike did the same. It was all squashed and cold, but my poor hungry Flock fell on it like hygiene-challenged hyenas. "Listen up." I said once their pace had slowed to a comfortable munching. "It's time to round up the gear and get out of here. I'm gonna check with Patrick and then tomorrow morning we'll head north-northeast. Eventually we'll hit Italy. From Italy we'll go to Ireland and then catch a plane to New York. Sound good?"

They all looked at me. Fang's brow scrunched a bit as he tried to read my expression.

"Look, I'll explain on the road, but we to get out of here, fast." I even looked over my shoulder, as if Dr. Hacker-Hagen was about to pop through our tent flap with a meat cleaver.

"Why would Dr. Hans have a meat cleaver?" Angel cocked her head to one side, but I just shook my head. She didn't need to know.

"Aren't we supposed to stay and help?" Nudge asked, brushing off some crumbs as she looked up at me.

"We have helped. And I wish we could help more, but it's just not safe anymore." I told her. After all the work Mom, John, Paul, Bryan and I had put into this trip it was a huge disappointment to have to get up and leave after only one day.

"Are we going on another mission?" Iggy asked. Angel and Gazzy's eyes widened sadly. None of them wanted to go on the run again. Not after having my mom and her friends and a house for the past month or so.

"Nah. At least, not for a while." I crouched down next to them and they looked up at me hopefully. "We're going somewhere new and different..." I looked at Spike and Fang. They grinned. Time to let out our little secret.

"Home." I smiled.

**AN:** Hey guys! Great news, so this last month of November was actually the national 'Write A Novel' month, for those of you who didn't know, and I used this story as my novel for this month, so I have the entire first half of this story written. About 20 chapters to be more specific. I'll be writing the second half in December - and will, hopefully, finish it - so if you guys want more then one chapter a week, I'll be happy to post more. But it'll cost you guys at least four reviews. *Smiles deviously*. I hope you liked the chapter! R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	6. Making A Home

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 5: Making A Home_**

Less then one week later, the kids were staring up at a house on the side of a cliff, out in the middle of a forest on top of the Arizona mountains. The house had that log-cabin look to it and behind it was a steep drop into a gorge, which the back deck over-hanged.

The front of the house was pretty plain. Two windows on both sides of the front door and the door itself. The only thing different about it, was the height of the porch. You had to fly o get in. Unless we lowered the ladder for you. But besides that it was a blank wall of wood. You could tell the house was big, even from the outside, but the real fun was in the back.

"What is this place?" Iggy asked, using the images Angel gave him to see.

"Just a little something Mom, John, Paul, Bryan, Fang, Spike and I have been working on. Why don't you guys head inside and check it out?" I suggested, smiling as they all grinned at each other and raced inside. I heard Total barking happily and knew he had found Akila waiting for him.

Us older kids followed more slowly, entering through the front door and into the living room to find the others gaping at everything they saw. The living room had one couch, two love-seats, a fairly large Tv, and a coffee table. Through a big, arched doorway was the kitchen. The doorway was towards the left of the room, right next to the hallway that led to the rest of the house, and just past the doorway was the kitchen table. Beyond the kitchen table were glass doors that led out onto the huge deck, overlooking the gorge. A perfect take-off and landing spot.

Packs were thrown onto the couch and hurried footsteps thundered down the hallway. Squeals and whoops of excitement were heard as each of the kids found the door with their name on it. I had drawn out plans with my mom for three hours to customize everyone's rooms to just the way they liked it.

The excitement and joy of a new home buzzed around the house for about two hours and then Iggy started making dinner, exploring his new, improved and huge kitchen. Gazzy stayed in the kitchen, talking with Iggy about how cool everything was, and the girls had taken over the living room so they could watch a romantic comedy movie Spike had found on the Tv.

I stepped out onto the deck and found Total and Akila cuddling on one of the lawn chairs. I left them to their discussion about cake flavors for their wedding - because I could only understand one side of it - and instead went to the railing to look out over the gorge, turned a yellow-orange color by the sunset.

I sighed, happy to see us in such a peaceful place. I felt horrible about it, but I couldn't help wondering how long it would stay peaceful. Things usually had a way of blowing up in our faces no matter how long and hard we work to make sure it's safe for us.

A gentle breeze brushed past and my feathers itched with temptation. I wondered if I had enough time before dinner to sneak in a quick flight.

My thoughts were quickly answered as Iggy called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready! Come sit down before we eat it all!" His voice was slightly muffled by the closed door standing between us.

"Lasagna! Excellent!" Gazzy said, sounding like he was inside some sort of bubble. I looked at the glass door, watching m Flock gather around the table, gave the sky one last, longing, look and then walked over and opened the door for Total and Akila.

My nose inhaled the yummy smells wafting from the center of the table and I took a seat. Fang sat down next to me, quietly wrapping his ankle around mine, and Spike sat on my other side as the kids, Total and Akila situated themselves around us.

I looked around at my family as they all started reaching and grabbing all the food they could fit on their plates. Iggy and Gazzy hadn't blown anything up in almost a week and I wasn't sure whether that should make me happy or nervous. Nudge was pretty much the same. Still wanting to learn and still talking a lot. But Angel had been on my mind for a while. Ever since she punched Jeanne, I couldn't stop thinking about everything and trying to figure out what had happened between the two. Angel still refused to talk about it, so I decided it would be best to wait and see if she came to me, but I was worried that something... weird might be happening to her. Maybe a new power she couldn't control? Or maybe she was hitting her rebellious age where she does the exact opposite of everything I say? There was no way to know for sure, but she was really starting to worry me.

I dug into my lasagna, still watching my family. For now I would just have to wait and see how everything played out.

After dinner everyone fled to claim one of our three bathrooms first. After traveling for so long in the desert without a shower or bath, we were all dying to get cleaned up. But someone had to clean up the kitchen before getting cleaned up themselves.

I collected all the dishes from the table and put them in the sink to soak for a while before I washed them. Suddenly my vision blurred and my head started to ache. I braced myself against the sink and put my free hand up to my head. Why was my forehead so hot? Come to think of it the whole room felt a little warm.

I opened the window above the sink, glad for the screen that kept out any nasty bugs, and left the room, turning off the lights as I went. In my room I plopped on my bed and sighed, suddenly really tired from our long trip across the ocean.

I rolled over onto my side, on top of the blankets, and curled up, closing my eyes. A shower could wait until morning, I was too tired to wait for the others to finish with theirs.

My achy tiredness had me dozing in and out of sleep for the next few hours. I vaguely remember Angel coming into my room to say goodnight, but besides that everything was just a blur between dreams, nightmares and reality.

Eventually I woke up again and couldn't get back to sleep. I huffed, realizing I had gotten to used to having full nights of restful sleep. Before Fang and I had become... official, I guess, all my nights had been like this: Exhausted, but unable to sleep because of nightmares and insomnia. Then I had kissed him on that submarine in front of everybody and we were a couple and he started holding me every night when we went to sleep. With him, I wouldn't have nightmares and I could relax - even though I suck at it - and get the sleep I'd been lacking in.

Now we had our own rooms again. There was no need to share body heat and my mom made it quite clear that it was inappropriate for young ladies to sleep in the same bed as their boyfriend's. Even though I was no 'young lady', I was far from normal and I had no intention on doing anything further then kissing with Fang for a long while.

I rolled over and peered up, out my window. The moon was a little past half and the stars twinkled around it happily. I wanted nothing more then to go sneak in with Fang, just so I could have a full night's rest, but it was almost two-thirty in the morning. I didn't want to disturb him.

I rolled over again and closed my eyes, determined to get some sleep. I managed to doze off for a little while, but then my eyes snapped open at a sound coming from outside. It was a scratching noise.

I sat up quickly and immediately regretted it. My head pounded in protest and heat coursed through me, going from the pounding in my head to my toes. A sharp pain stabbed me right between the wings. I felt sticky and soon sweat was trickling down my face. It was just so damn hot in here!

I staggered to my feet and threw open the window, letting cold air flood the room and wash over my over-heating body. I sat on the window seat and leaned against the wall as the pounding slowly faded and was replaced by the same achy tiredness from earlier. The pain in my back dulling to a horrible, stinging itch. I sighed. I wasn't interested in repeating everything that had happened in the last few hours. Maybe staying up for the rest of the night would just be easier. Sure seemed that way.

My ears twitched and my eyes fixated on my bedroom door as a creak came from the hallway. My breathing calmed and my hands slowly curled into fists, ready for a fight. The knob to my door turned very, very slowly and my muscles coiled, tightened as I prepared to leap at the intruder if they attacked. A hand crept around the edge of the door, easing it open, and I almost gasped. It was an Eraser's paw, I was sure of it. Huge, hairy, tipped with long, ragged claws. I still had scars from claws like that. I got to my feet, ready to lunge and make the first strike...

A dark, shaggy head poked around the edge of the door and I jumped forward, but managed to catch myself before doing any damage. "Fang?" I whispered, my eyes snapping down to his hand on the door. It was just a hand. No claws.

I blinked several times as Fang stepped in, shutting the door behind him. "Sorry." He whispered back. "Didn't mean to startle you, just trying to be quiet." I nodded my understanding and sat down abruptly on my bed.

"You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Fang asked, sitting down next to me. I shook my head, speechless for reasons I couldn't even explain. "How come you're awake?" Fang tried again, switching directions as he took my hand into his own non-paw.

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Max, stop it." Fang's firm voice made my eyes look up to meet his. He wasn't happy. I was about to open my mouth to demand what he wanted me to stop, but I knew what it was and, more importantly, he knew that I knew. "Stop closing yourself off again." His voice was a little more gentle this time and my eyes dropped to look at my hand resting in my lap.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled. "It's just... I haven't gotten much sleep at all yet. Nightmares, you know?"

Fang seemed to relax a bit himself, when he realized I wasn't building up walls again, and reached out a hand to push my hair back behind my ear. "Would it help if I stayed here with you?" He smirked his special smirk and I nodded silently.

He climbed into the bed next to me, holding up the covers so I could slide in, and then pulled me close. My fingers wrapped themselves up in the fabric of his shirt and my feet intertwined with his.

"Why did you come in here anyway?" I broke the silence after a long moment of just laying in his arms.

"Just came to check up on you. You've been getting wound tighter every day." He spoke into my hair, his breath minty smelling from the toothpaste. I guess he had actually waited for a shower.

"I guess I have." My voice was barely audible. "I just... I don't know what to do. I mean, Dr. G-H claiming that no wouldn't be my final answer, Chu's sudden appearance at the camp, Dylan, and Angel's sudden burst of anger towards Jeanne. They're all things that need my attention and things that I need to figure out, but I don't feel like I know enough about anything to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing."

"I know you're worried. But right now we're all together and we're safe. Let's just enjoy this while it lasts, okay?" He said, rubbing soothing circles on the spot right between my wings. My eyes slid shut and I snuggled closer to Fang as his wings wrapped around me. His warm hand feeling amazing on my aching back. "Try and get some sleep, Max. I'll be right here if you need me."

_Dylan was staring into my eyes, his hands on my shoulders, pulling me closer, as he leaned in. "No -Stop!" I tried to yank myself out of his grip, but he was stronger then I thought._

_"Max, stay." He said. "I know it's hard for you to understand or accept, but you and I are destined to be together. You need me." I edged away, putting a few inches between his chest and me, even though his arms still connected us._

_"I already have everything - and everyone - I need." I told him._

_"No." He spoke softly, as if he wanted to break the news to me gently. "You do need me, Max."_

_"Yeah?" I demanded. "Why?" His turquoise eyes locked with mine and I tried to wriggle my way out of his arms - and his gaze for that matter - but he wouldn't let me. His arms slipped from my shoulders and slid down until they rested on my waist. I'd never been this close to anyone but Fang. It was uncomfortable. It felt wrong._

_"You need me, because I can protect you. I can offer you anything in the world, so long as we are together. It's destiny." He insisted._

_"You don't know me, Dylan." I growled, steeling my voice and eyes. "I don't need protecting."_

_It was as if he didn't even hear me. He reached out to touch my wings, but I flinched away, and he settled for my shoulder. He played with the strands of my hair, stroking it softly as I glared at him._

_"You and I will be together." He said, not even a hint of a smile on his face. "Forever."_

_I yanked myself out of his arms and backed up quickly. "No!" I shouted, but Dylan reached out for me again._

_"You can't argue with destiny, Max." He looked almost sad that I wasn't as happy about this as he was._

_"No!" I covered my ears, stumbling back. "No, no, no!"_

_"Max."_

_"No!"_

"Max!"

"NO!" I shot up in my bed, breathing hard and sweating so much that the sheets I was tangled in were soaked through.

"Max." Fang's voice and soft touch registered in my mind. I looked up at him, my eyes half lidded with sleep. He wrapped me up in his arms and I leaned against him, utterly confused.

A sigh brought my eyes up to see Spike drying her hands with a towel. "You were running a fever over two-hundred and thirty. I think it was because of your nightmare, but just to be on the safe side, I'll get you some medicine that you can take. And you should take it easy for today. Sit on the couch. Watch some Tv." She told me, seeing my questioning look.

I groaned and looked up at Fang as he loosened his hold on me just a little bit so we could look at each other. "What time is it?" I asked. "And are the kids up?"

"It's seven-thirty. And no, the kids aren't up yet." Fang rubbed my back and pushed my damp hair off my face and behind my ear. Spike returned quickly with the medicine and I downed it easily, even though I was still a little shaky.

"You wanna talk about it?" Spike broke the silence after I had set my glass on the bedside table.

"Not really." I grimaced at the idea. "I think I'm just gonna take a shower. Clear my head." I muttered, slowly removing the covers and getting to my feet.

"Alright. Just remember what I said about taking it easy." Spike warned with a sharp look and I rolled my eyes, grabbing my towel from the hook on the back of my door.

"I'll be out in a little bit. If I'm not out by eight o'clock can you guys wake up the kids?" I asked. The two nodded, still looking a little wary, and I left them to their own devices.

A nice, warm shower would do me some good.

**AN:** Hey guys! Well, I had an incredibly crazy week! Anyways, tell me what you thought about the chapter. I hope you enjoyed some of the Fax fluffiness in there, 'cause I did. R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	7. What The Eyes See

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 6: What The Eyes See_**

"Get up, damn it!" I yelled. In retrospect I guess screaming at a person and tugging them out of bed by their legs isn't the best way to wake a person up, but this kid could sleep through a herd of stampeding gorillas!

Iggy groaned and kicked at my hands, crawling quickly back into his cave of blankets and pillows that had formed around his body in the night. I fell backwards, losing my grip on his ankles, and landed on my butt. I growled as I rubbed my sore behind and then jumped to my feet.

"Iggy, up and at 'em!" Fang shouted as he passed by the door in the hall and Iggy's head slowly lifted out of the covers, obeying grudgingly.

"What the hell?!" I demanded, outraged as he tumbled out of bed and dragged his feet to the growing mound that was his closet. "Why couldn't you have done that the first time I asked?"

"Because then I'd be a good child, like Nudge and Angel." Iggy yawned and I gaped at him as he left the room stretching.

I shook my head and glared after him, stalking out of his room and into the girl's. I was practically steaming as I burst through their door and threw open the curtains over the windows, yelling the whole time.

"Alright, sleeping beauties, time to get up! Come on, let's go!" They both hid from the sudden brightness by hiding underneath their blankets and peering out at me with bleary, sleep-clouded eyes.

"What's going on?" Nudge wondered as she sat up, wrinkled and ruffled by sleep.

"Max is in the shower and asked Fang and I to wake y'all up. Although, _I'm_ doing all the work!" I made the last part loud enough so Fang could hear it out in the hall.

"I woke up Iggy, didn't I?" He called back and I knew he was smirking that stupid, smug smirk of his. I wondered how smug he would be if I went out there kicked him where it counts.

"I don't think that's very nice." Angel said and I snorted. The two giggled at me and I hung my head, defeated.

"Let's just go get some breakfast." I said, ushering them out of the room. The Pj clad bird-girls ran ahead and I stopped to glare at Fang. He just shrugged it off though. "Go tell Max breakfast is almost ready!" I ordered and he held up his hands in defense as I pushed him down the hall, towards the bathroom.

He chuckled as he went and I started for the kitchen. Hopefully nothing was on fire.

Luckily, the fire was only a small one and was quickly put out by a bowl full of water. After that, we cleaned up and set the table. Max and Fang came out to join us, but all through breakfast Fang kept glancing over at Max the whole time. I raised my eyebrow at him in silent question and the expression he gave me clearly stated that he didn't know what was going on, just that something was wrong.

"Max, can I play on the laptop?" Angel asked, pushing her plate away once she'd finished.

"Sure." Max replied easily and Angel slipped out of her chair as everyone started to shift. We all piled our dishes in the sink and the kids ran off to do whatever as Fang, Max and I cleaned up the kitchen.

"Max?" Angel said, walking into the kitchen with the laptop balanced in her small hands. "I think we got an email." She held up the folded object and Max took it from her, confused.

She set the computer down on the table and opened it, finding a little red pop-up in one corner with the number one on it. Clicking it, Max opened the email account Fang had set up for his blog and found an email. Reading who it was from we all glanced at each other nervously. Dr. Gunther-Hagen was the name attached to the email and there was no topic line.

"Angel, why don't you go see what Nudge is doing? Hang out with her for a little while?" Max suggested it. Angel hesitated, but nodded and walked out, looking over her shoulder one last time in the doorway before she left.

"Should we open it?" I asked once the three of us were alone, keeping my voice low so the kids wouldn't overhear anything.

"I say we trash it and get a new email address." Fang muttered, but Max was staring at the computer, biting her lip.

After a long moment she looked at us, her expression difficult to read. "I think we should at least take a look. See if he's becoming hostile." She said slowly.

I nodded and Fang, even though he clearly didn't like the idea, followed along too. I stood next to Max as she placed herself in front of the laptop and Fang came up behind her, his hands lightly gripping her shoulders comfortingly. Max took a deep breath and clicked to open the email. Inside was a video, so she hit the play button.

My eyebrows scrunched together when the finger-chopping-doctor himself smiled at us from the screen. "Hello, Max." He began and I braced myself for horrors similar to the ones from our dinner. "You ran out a bit quickly the other day and I was so excited to be demonstrating my work that I never had the opportunity to give you some of the more important reasons, as to why you would want to come work with me."

"As I'm certain you learned from what you saw and learned of my limb-regeneration project, I am the world's leading expert on stem cell research. Growing an organ in a dish and implanting it is rather an elementary process for me and my team compared to limb regeneration. In fact, I've been successfully implanting organs grown from subjects own tissue for a number of years now. Were you to join me, doors would open up for you and your Flock." He paused dramatically, twiddling a pen in his hand as he leaned back in his fancy, leather desk chair. "For example, wouldn't one of your boys love a new pair of these?"

He reached to the side and slid a cloudy jar to the center of the desk and the camera zoomed in to focus on it. Floating inside were two human eyeballs.

Iggy.

The video ended and Max slammed the top of the laptop down, her hair falling in front of her face like a curtain and casting shadows across everything above her nose. I couldn't see her eyes, but her clenched jaw and the straight line of her lips told me enough.

After a moment of just standing around in the kitchen, Fang stepped closer to Max and rubbed her back, the spot right between her wings. She looked up at him and then hung her head, leaning on her hands that were flat on the table, and sighed. She chuckled dryly and shook her head. Fang pulled her up into his arms and I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"What do I do?" She asked tiredly. "I don't want to even consider joining that creep, but how is that fair to Iggy if that creep can give him back his eyes?"

"You don't know for sure that he can do it. He could just be baiting you." Fang said, meeting her gaze. "And he's not just going to give Iggy his sight back, he's going to want something in return. And what else could he want from us besides our cooperation as his new test subjects?"

"He could ask for Max to teach Dylan how to fly and stuff, but that would only be if we were lucky." I agreed, thinking back to the dinner with the syringe and the meat cleaver.

"What?" Fang demanded and I realized that probably wasn't the best thing to say. Max proved my thoughts right by elbowing me in the arm.

"It's nothing, Fang. Dr. Hack-A-Finger just wanted me to teach Dylan how to fly." She quickly tried to calm him, but Fang didn't look convinced. Dylan had been eye-balling Max every second he got the chance.

"Max?" We all turned to see the others standing there with Total and Akila. Iggy had been the one to speak up. "Can we go flying for a while? Check out the forest and stuff."

"Sounds like fun. Why don't we all go?" The others smiled at Max as she walked over to the glass door and slid it open. The youngsters ran out ahead and we followed quickly after them. Total and Akila settled on a lawn-chair and watched us kick off the deck railing, jumping over it and into the gorge below, before shooting back up with our wings stretched out.

Flying was a great way to relax and forget about your problems, at least for a little while. We played games like wing-tag and chicken and several others. The kids were having a blast, that was for sure, and who could blame them? It wasn't often you get a home out in the middle of nowhere to be safe in.

It was sunny and bright out and everyone was having a good time. Although, Max did occasionally go into a daze of deep thought and Fang or I would have to tackle, slap her with a wing or tag her to get her out of it.

Other times she would look pale and her breathing would be ragged while her wings beat unsteadily. It was all really unnerving to me, but every time I tried to remind her about her fever, she would wave me off, saying she would just worry the kids if she stopped playing.

I looked over at Fang and he nodded, silently agreeing to keep a close eye on Max just in case. We continued with a number of different games and we explored the gorge. We only stopped once to have some lunch and then we were back out flying.

I noticed that Max's take off was wobbly and slightly forced. Once we were up in the air I leveled myself next to Max and gave her a pointed look. She sighed.

"What is it, Spike?" She raised her eyebrows at me and I huffed with annoyance.

"You need to rest. After your fever this morning you should be resting." I told her, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You've also told me that I need to stop stressing and over-thinking. Flying helps with that." She informed me and I scowled at her.

"Can't you settle for a board game instead? Or Slide. Angel loves to play Slide!" I pointed out as Max wiped some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

Fang swooped down and joined us on Max's other side, letting his wing brush her's. "Fang, tell her she needs to rest!" I ordered.

"Max, you need to rest." Fang said, Max rolled her eyes and raced ahead of us. Fang looked at me and shrugged. "Did you honestly think she would listen to me?"

"No." I admitted. "But I figured it was worth a try."

"Do you really think it's something to be that worried about?" Fang asked, his face was blank, the normal rock he always was, but I knew he was concerned for Max.

"I don't know for sure... But it's not often we get sick. It might just be me being paranoid, but I'd rather be safe then sorry." I looked at him and Fang nodded grimly, looking at Max. She was flying and swooping with the others just a little ways away. Her flying was slower and shakier then usual.

Fang rushed ahead to join the group and I chased after him. When we were about half way there, Max swooped down and in the middle of her dive, her wings gave out and one twisted to an awkward angle before pressing tightly against her back as she fell, one wing working. She quickly spun into a death-spiral and Fang folded in his wings, dropping down to catch up with her.

"MAX!" He yelled. Nudge screamed and I held my breath. A breath-length away from the bottom of the gorge, Fang snatched up Max tightly in his arms and shot upwards. He headed straight for the house and I darted that way, too.

We touched down at the same moment and I ran the short distance between me and Fang, who was holding Max and trying to keep her awake. I checked her pulse, noting that it was faster then it should be even after a drop like that, and her breathing was sharp and shallow. I felt her forehead and grimaced at how hot it was, shaking my hand to rid it of the sticky sweat.

"Put her on the couch. Iggy, get a bowl of cool water and two washcloths." I kept my voice as calm as I could, giving orders and working fast.

Iggy hurried into the kitchen and Fang led the way to the living room, gently placing Max down on the soft cushions of the couch. He moved to the side so I could get to her, but he wouldn't let go of her hand. Any other time I would have stopped to think about how sweet that was, but I was too busy worrying about Max.

"What's wrong with Max?" Angel's voice cracked and tears were already spilling down her cheeks.

"Don't worry, Ange. Everything's going to be okay." I said, my voice calm and steady even though my stomach was twisted into tight knots.

**AN:** Hey, guys. Okay, so who's got all their shopping done? Hectic Holiday Shopping, anyone? Haha, tell me what you thought of this chapter. I'd like at least to reviews for this one, so R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	8. Visions Of Memories

_**Maximum Ride - Episode 7: Visions Of Memories**_

_I was four. Rough hands grabbed me and dragged me out of my cage. I screeched in protest as my tired eyes snapped open. I dragged my sharpened finger nails down the length of the arm holding me, but my claws were met with a heavy material that protected the wearer..._

Gentle dabs wiped away the sweat collecting on my brow, two blurred figures stood over me, speaking softly. I tried to breath but it was hard and the air around me was thick. A large hand caressed my cheek and dark eyes stared down at me, clouded with worry...

_They threw me into another cage, larger then my other one, and loud, metal clanks alerted me of the slamming cage door. I could smell the bitter tang of blood and sweat, I could hear the growls of a failed experiment that had either gone mad or simply couldn't control itself anymore..._

Something cool was laid on my burning forehead, but it fell off when I twisted to one side, crying out in pain as exploded in between my wings. I thrashed around, turning this way and that to try and claw at the spot, but I couldn't reach it. The calm voices rose to be heard over my yells and the large hands returned to try and hold me down...

_The bars on one side of my cage opened and I flexed the muscles in my hands and feet, feeling the rough, pebbly dirt beneath them. Light flood into my cage from outside and I heard the screech and clanks of a second cage being opened. I stepped out, blinking at the brightness from the lights above. The room was nothing but a huge oval with a dirt floor. There was only one window in the entire room and there were bars to protect it from the likes of me..._

I was trapped, pinned down by my arms and still thrashing in pain. I could hear voices trying to speak to me, but I couldn't form any words to talk back. I felt a hand press against my forehead and coolness swept through me, fighting off the pain. I forced myself to stop thrashing as the pain faded just a bit, but I still trembled from the throbbing between my wings...

_I growled as I looked up at the shiny surface of that window. I knew the were watching me from behind the safety of the bars. To afraid to come out and get a closer look. I would show them. I would give them something to fear._

_The creature from the second cage stumbled out, foaming at the mouth. I snarled at it, taking in it's appearance. Whatever it was, it had, apparently, once been human. But that obviously a very long time ago. Four horns twisted out of it's skull, two straight and pointing behind it's head, the other two were curved like goat horns and pointed forward. It had stringy white hair that looked like it was about to fall out, it's ears stuck out to the side, long and pointed, and it's nose had been deformed until it was barely a nose at all, just two burrows settled between it's eyes, which glowed crimson._

_It opened it's mouth and screeched in excitement at the thought of fresh blood to feed on, if it even had thoughts, revealing sharp, needle-like teeth that had gaps between each and every one of them. I was also surprised to see two more eyes glowing crimson on the back of the creatures mouth._

_It's skin was red and bloody and irritated from experiments. It's muscles were bulging in some places and shriveling in others. I could count every single rib inside it and the only thing it wore was a loincloth of sorts to cover it's private area. That alone was a lot more then a lot of others placed in the Arena could say. But I didn't care if my opponent was clothed or not. Just that it would entertain me for at least a little while. This creature held little promise, even with it's large hands and even larger claws protruding from said hands._

_The thing screeched a second time and ran towards me on it's two legs like a human. I smirked. I stayed where I was, balanced on all fours as the creature charged me. At the last second I used the power from all my limbs to flip up and over the creature, landing easily on all fours once again. The thing whirled around and screeched it's anger at me, running at me once again. I smiled. Time to play..._

Hot, flavored liquid washed down my throat as someone held a bowl to my lips, the wide rim keeping any liquid from sloshing out and on to me. I struggled not to spit it back out by yelling or trying to breath and eventually managed to drain the bowl as someone was encouraging me to. Whatever it was, it helped me to breath a little better...

_Crimson stained everything. The dirt, my hospital dress, my face, what was left of the creature lying dead at my feet and my hands. Flesh from my opponent was lodged in my fingernails and the bitter scent of fresh blood flooded my nose. It was everywhere, I was standing in a pool of it while staring at my blood-covered hands. I smiled at what I had done, while a corpse of deformed flesh lay in front of me. The thing may have looked somewhat human before, but now it looked like nothing more then some Eraser's next meal. Roughly cut meat with bones sticking out of it and it's intestines pooling out beside it as a side dish._

_I kept smiling. My breathing was labored as tears streamed from my eyes in a steady flow. The tears cleared small paths through the blood, dirt and sweat that clung to my face and dripped off my chin. Why? Why did it always feel this way? I had won. Whitecoats would be happy. No pain. But... The blood. The bad smell._

_My stomach twisted and I threw up on the remains, coughing and sputtering. Why did this always happen? Fighting made me feel excited, free... Alive. Didn't that mean I liked it? Or did I hate it? It feels good, but then it doesn't. Why does it hurt my chest so much?..._

"Max..." I strained to listen to the voice. It was familiar. It made me feel warm, protected, safe. "I wish there was something I could do..." The voice was just a whisper and I could feel large, calloused hands wrap around one of mine. "Please, wake up soon."

_"Sir, we've brought the experiment you requested." Said the man who was holding me. I growled and tried to bite him, but he had heavy, thick stuff covering his arm. My teeth couldn't reach his skin._

_"Good. You may go now, underling." The alpha-man said, waving his hand._

My vision skipped and stuttered like an old film between reality and nightmare for a moment, before focusing again...

_"I see that you've done extremely well with my creation." Alpha-man said after lesser male left. He pushed my hair back and looked at my face. I hissed at him and tried to bite, but his hand was out of reach. I was pinned to the table, face-down._

_"Yes, I've followed your instructions exactly. She began her time in the Arena a few months ago, just as you asked." Another voice said from somewhere in the room._

The image flickered again, then settled. _I looked over my shoulder, glaring at the two whitecoats standing over me. They had masks and hats and gloves. I couldn't see them because the light above them was too bright. Alpha-man flicked the needle._

_"Now, hold still." Alpha-man leaned over and slowly drove the four-inch needle into my back, right between my wings. Another flicker. I writhed in pain as fire exploded from the entry point of the needle and flooded into the rest of my body. It felt like my insides were on fire. They were burning me alive! I screamed..._

"Shh, sweetie. It's okay. It's just a dream." The voice sounded muffled and far away, but I could hear it. I could feel the hands holding one of mine and wiping my forehead with something wet and cool...

_We were moving. That was all I knew. I had been placed inside a very large box and then a roar had sounded and the box had started moving. The box was shiny and black on the outside, from what I had seen in the underground area. I wasn't usually awake when they moved me from place to place, so this was all very strange to me._

_I had been in the box for a very long time. Days. I had smelt salt for a while and heard strange horns blaring outside. Eventually the roar of the box started again and it didn't stop for another few days._

_One day I could hear a million little... somethings hitting the roof of the box and I listened to the quiet thumping curiously. It was new and strange. Suddenly the box jerked from side to side and the next thing I knew my cage was toppling over and over. I heard screeching and yelling and I hit myself many times as the box turned over on its side._

_One of the doors to the black box had swung open and light spilled in from outside. It wasn't bad light, like the lights above the tables that bring pain or in the halls that lead to bad places. This light was good. Soft and gentle._

_I noticed that some of the bars of my cage had been bent and I tilted my head. I looked at the open door and then the bent bars and slowly moved forwards. I squeezed through the bent bars, getting stuck a little when I was about half way out, and then tumbling onto the floor with an 'oof'._

_I shook my head and peered at the open door. Now I could see the stuff that had been hitting the roof. It was water, falling from the sky. I remembered once a whitecoat had come inside all wet and another whitecoat had asked how he liked the rain. The wet whitecoat had growled and started complaining about rain._

_Was this what they were talking about? Was this rain?_

_I crept forward on all fours until I was just a step away from being partly outside the box. Large water drops fell from the sky, which was grey and covered in dark stuff. Clouds? Yeah, that sounded right. I looked out ahead and saw a long strip of black stuff. A road. To either side was thick forest. Trees, bushes, undergrowth, all a deep green color that looked very much inviting._

_I looked up at the sky again, the rain falling all around and slowly stretching out my nose to sniff. So many scents filled my nose, all of them fresh and lively, but I yanked away quickly, wrinkling my nose when a rain drop hit it. It was cold._

_I peered out again and then finally built up enough nerve. I slowly crawled out of the box and onto the road, into the rain. I sat down when I was in the center of the road, a few strides away from the box and very, very slowly, carefully, picked up my hands and spread my legs apart to keep my balance on only two limbs._

_Once I had my balance, I closed my eyes and turned my face upwards, letting the rain pour down on top of me. And for the first time in my entire life, I knew what it felt like to be clean. It was like the rain had come to wash away all the bad things I had done, all the horrible moments in my life. I felt clean and... happy. For the first time ever, I was sure of what I was feeling._

_I liked the rain._

_I opened my eyes and looked all around me, smiling. I giggled and dropped to all fours again, running to a tree and putting my hands against it to feel the rough bark. I laughed, looking up at the green leaves sticking out of the branches. I looked past it and grinned bigger. I ran for a clear, grassy area. I rolled over in it over and over again, laughing as the grass tickled my face, wings, feet and hands._

_I was outside! I ran back out into the road, my giggles fading for a moment as I took a deep breath in and smiled at the feeling of the rain. Was this what it felt like to be free? I glanced over my shoulder, catching a glimpse of the feathery tops of my wings. What did it feel like to fly? Was it as good as this? Was it better? Was it possible for it to be better then this?_

_I was decided. I bunched my muscles and stretched my wings out. I jumped and flapped as hard as I could, but my wings weren't strong enough to keep me up and I fell to the ground next to the box. I tried again, ending on the opposite side of the road as the box. My brow furrowed with determination and my smile stretched across my face confidently. I prepped to try again, but something sharp pierced my neck and I fell to the side upon impact._

_My hand went up to my neck and my blurred vision saw three big, hairy figures with big long weapons in their hands. They walked over and stood over me, I looked up at them for a moment and then passed out from the poison in the dart..._

I heard the door open, feeling less pain and struggle now. I was tired and needed rest, so I didn't even bother opening my eyes, I just listened.

"How is she?" Spike's voice filtered through.

"Better. I think the worst is over now. Did you get some sleep?" Fang murmured quietly and I could sense him sitting next to me, waiting for me to wake up.

"Yeah, if this thing comes back I'll be ready for it. How long has she been out for?" The air shifted in the room as Spike drew closer.

"At least an hour or two. I haven't really been watching the clock." Fang whispered, his hand lightly squeezing mine. "But I think she's going to be okay."

"Well of course she is." Spike said and I could picture her rolling her eyes. "This is Maximum Ride we're talking about here. She's gonna pull through this just fine. You and the others really need to stop worrying so much."

_I woke up somewhere dark. I pushed up into a sitting position and yawned. I looked around. There were cages lining the walls and stacked just as high. I could make out a few shapes, but after a moment I realized that most of them were dead or dying._

_I wondered where I was. I had never shared a room with other mutants before. It was rare that I ever even left the operation room they had set aside for me. There was a cage built into the wall there and there was a door that opened up into a short hallway that led to my cage in the Arena._

_I looked beside me, hearing something rustle and peered into the darkness. There was a something beside me, that was for sure. He wore the white shirt and pants that all male experiments wear. His eyes measured me in the same way I did him and when our gazes locked I couldn't help notice his eyes. They were strange. Black, but little swirls of gold flashed teasingly in the darkness of the room. His black hair fell in his face and he cocked an eyebrow at me curiously. I guess he knew I wasn't from here. Wherever here was._

_"I've never seen you before." He spoke like a human and I snarled, shrinking into a corner of my cage as I glared at him. He looked confused for a moment and then realization dawned in his eyes._

_I watched closely as he slowly extended pitch black wings that were extremely hard to see in the dark. My eyes widened and my wings loosened up a little, laying naturally on my back. The boy, who looked no older then me, stayed completely still as I inspected his wings, slowly getting closer as curiosity got the better of me._

_I sniffed at him and hesitantly felt a couple of his feathers to make sure they were real. He just sat patiently, smirking as he let me make my own decision about him. Eventually, I was satisfied and looked him in the eyes. How had he learned to speak human?_

_His smirk soon faded and he reached out, pulling back a little when I growled, but then ignoring me and touching the side of my neck where the dart had hit me. There was a small hole there and I had been trying to shrug off the sleepy feeling ever since I woke up._

_"Sleep." The boy said finally and laid down, right up against the wall of his cage that was closest to mine. I raised an eyebrow at him and sniffed. I trotted away and curled up in the back corner furthest away from his cage, closing my eyes. The boy smirked at me and snorted..._

I groaned as I felt the achiness and tired muscles hit me like a tidal wave. I somehow managed to get into a sitting position despite the soreness and look around. It was dark outside and my clock read 8:57. I looked at my floor and felt a smile touch my lips.

The kids were camped out on my floor with Total and Akila, Spike had fallen asleep on my window-seat and Fang was next to my bed sitting in my desk chair with his torso resting on the bed as he slept. I must have worried them all half to death.

"So are we having a party in my room or what?" I croaked and they all jerked awake, looking around wildly before their eyes settled on me.

"Max!" Angel cried, flying into my arms from on the floor right beside my bed. I chuckled and hugged her tight.

"You're okay!" Gazzy was grinning as he ran over with Nudge, who asked. "Are you okay now, Max?" I nodded at them and let them join in on the hug because I knew they wanted to, and then I noticed Iggy. He was standing there awkwardly, probably trying to decide whether to stay back with Fang and Spike or to give in and join the group hug like the kid he still was.

"Get over here, Ig." I said and he smiled, silently joining us as the kids found comfortable spots to sit on my bed. Spike came over, checked my forehead and gave me some pills to take. All the while Fang refused to let go of my hand.

"You sure, you're okay?" He asked once everyone had settled down and I nodded again.

"Yes, I'm fine." I told him, but looking at my kids I could see that they still looked doubtful. "Really, guys. I'm fine."

"But you were yelling r-really loud." Angel mumbled burying her face into my shoulder and I instantly felt bad. So much had been happening lately, both good and bad, and me randomly falling out of the sky to go into a day-long coma did not exactly scream 'I'm fine'.

"I'm sorry if I worried you guys." I said, looking at each of them. "But I'm fine now and thanks to Spike I feel as good as ever."

"But what if it happens again?" Nudge looked close to tears.

"It's not going to. I promise. I got a little sick last night and I pushed it a little too far today, that's all. Just the flu that I didn't take the time to get rid of completely. It's me fault and I won't let it happen again." I said and they seemed to except the explanation, but they still looked like someone had killed their talking dog.

Things had been really stressful lately. Not just with what happened in Africa, but everything. Ever since this whole saving-the-world thing started it's been one emotional roller coaster ride with a lot of downs and only a few ups. They needed to see that we were still together. We were still a Flock. A family.

I spotted a calender and an idea popped into my mind. "You know." I said slowly, warming up to the idea. "None of us have had a birthday for a really long time."

"What?" Fang asked flatly, obviously worried about where I was going with this.

"Yeah, you know it's about time. I can't remember when I turned fourteen and my mom did say I was born in the beginning of Spring." I got up from the bed and cleaned my face with the wet washcloth that was in the bowl of cold water they had used to wipe the sweat off. "I'm going to have a birthday. So, we need a party."

"Can I turn seven?" Angel's hopeful eyes and smile had proven my plan successful.

"I don't see why not." I tweaked her nose and she giggled.

"I wanna be eleven!" Nudge exclaimed.

"I'm nine! I'm nine!" Gazzy agreed excitedly. I turned to Iggy.

"You wanna be thirteen?"

"Yeah." He grinned and the kids started chanting 'birthday, birthday, birthday'. I turned to Spike and Fang. They both gave me looks that said they knew what I was doing and I wasn't going to get away with it, but nodded nonetheless. They even looked a bit happy about the idea themselves. I mean, Fang doesn't usually smile for nothing.

"Then it's decided." I announced. "We're all going to be one year older tomorrow and we're going to have a big party."

My Flock cheered and started dancing around the room. I sighed happily as I watched them. It was times like this when being the leader was most rewarding. When I got to see everyone happy.

**AN:** Hey guys! Did you enjoy getting a look into Max's past? Don't worry, there's gonna be more. Tell me what you think and R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	9. Birthday Wishes

**AN:** Hey, guys. There's just a couple of things I've gotta say, so hang on one second before you start reading. First off, Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Second, I meant to post this chapter yesterday - one Christmas day - but you know, the internet and every time I tried to get on it said the the service was unavailable. So, I gave up because the rest of my day was really busy.  
Secondly, I'm testing something in this chapter, so if something comes out weird, I'm terribly sorry, just ignore it!  
Another thing I had to say, this last week I got four review, but they weren't on my newest chapter - which doesn't really matter, but still - and they weren't exactly positive. One of the reviewers did have a question though and I wanted to take the time to answer it.  
**Abigail**: No, Spike is not a main character. She's an OC of mine the I added to the Flock and I just needed some else's POV in this story - you'll see why later on - and I did Fang's POV in the second book. I would suggest that you read the first two stories to this series before you continue any farther with this one. The names are Maximum Ride: The First Flight & Maximum Ride: Fang. This story is kinda hard to understand if you read it on it's own, so I hope you'll take my advice to heart and give my stories a chance, if not, I understand.  
Now, I think that's all I had to say... If I missed anything I'll post it in the next chapter. R&REVIEW, please, I deserve it after not getting one for the last chapter! I hope you guys like it. Merry Christmas! -Owl.

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 8: Birthday Wishes_**

"Do you think she'd like a bomb of her own?" Gazzy asked Iggy as the older boy busied himself with cooking and baking for the party. Iggy paused his cake batter stirring for a moment to think and then shook his head.

"I don't think so. She usually just relies on us to do all of that." He said, turning to pour his batter into a pan he had prepared beforehand.

"Well, what can I give her?" Gazzy gripped his hair between his fingers in frustration. "Bombs are the only thing that I know how to make! And I'm broke, too, so it's not like I can buy something!"

"Hm, what about that spark powder you got for Christmas? There's a lot you can do with that. Colored smoke bombs, spark fountains, colored flashes." Iggy suggested, sliding his cake into the oven and setting a timer.

A smile slowly widened across Gazzy's face as an idea popped into his head. "Iggy you're a genius! And I still don't understand how you can set the timer perfectly every time."

Iggy shrugged. "It's a gift."

* * *

Angel smiled as she looked at all the things she had collected, placed on a rock at the bottom of the gorge, right underneath the deck high up above her. There was just one last thing she needed before she could get to work.

Flapping her wings, Angel flew up a little ways and looked down at the bottom of the gorge. Her sharp eyes darted here and there, searching the shadows of the canyon, inspecting every shape, every outline.

Oh, there! Perfect! It was amazing it was still intact with all the elements and animals around it, but there it was, the final piece Angel would need to make her gifts. She swooped down and snatched up the small object, bringing it back to the rock where all her other things waited patiently. Carefully, she placed each little thing into the small bag she had brought with her, admiring each piece as she picked them up. Soon her bag was full and she bunched her muscles, jumping into the sky and shooting up to the deck.

She landed with a small thump and then ran into the house, through the kitchen, down the hall and into the room she shared with Nudge. In side Nudge was organizing everything she had gathered and it looked quite impressive from the stack of white papers to the colored strings, shoe laces and twine.

"Oh, good, you're back! Okay, I couldn't find newspaper to wrap the gifts in or anything, but I did find this white copier paper Dr. Martinez had left for us to draw on and I couldn't find any bows, but I found some old shoe laces that we can wash so they're not all dirty and then a few strings from things around the house and this ball of twine was just sitting in the basement so I figured we could do something with it. -Oh, and, you'll never believe it, I found these little strips of leather in my sewing kit!" Nudge gushed excitedly as she rummaged through the things that were spread out across their floor.

"It's perfect. Let's see what we've got and get to work." Angel grinned, sitting on the floor and opening her bag to take out all of her little treasures.

* * *

I sighed, my head hanging off the side of my bed as I stared up-side-down at the stack of wrapped presents across the room from me. Finding the gifts had been a bit of a challenge, but I quickly figured it out and even picked up a small tube of wrapping paper. After I had finished wrapping my gifts nearly three hours ago, I realized I then had nothing to do and was swiftly sinking into boredom. So to cure myself of the horrid disease, I took the leftover wrapping paper and cut them into long, thin strips and made those into bows to put on the top of the presents. That had taken up only about an hour. And that is how I ended up splayed across my bed, hanging my head up-side-down in complete boredom.

I sighed. Damn, I was bored.

* * *

Fang stepped back into the shadows of an alley beside a store, watching as the familiar shine of brown hair and chocolate colored eyes passed with two, smaller bags in one hand and an old, wrinkled piece of paper in her other. She stopped for a moment, straightening and listening. She looked over her shoulder, saw nothing, and then shrugged and moved on.

Fang breathed a sigh of relief. What was she doing here? No doubt doing the same thing he was doing, but he hadn't expected her to travel so far away from home, nearly a hundred miles away from the Flock.

No problem. She hadn't seen him and she was heading the opposite way as he was. So far Fang was in good shape. He'd gotten a really scary, thriller novel on CD for Iggy, a book on the world's history of bombs for Gazzy and he'd gotten the three latest, hottest fashion magazine-book-type-things for Nudge.

For Angel he had decided to do something a little different. She was still a little kid, sleeping with Celeste and following after Max like a little duckling to it's mother, but she was smarter and more creative then most kids her age. So, he had gotten her a camera, hoping she would use her creativeness for good and art instead of evil. She was the good child though, so he didn't worry too much.

Spike had been easy. He could remember many a time when she wished she could get something pierced - ears, nose, bellybutton (he didn't understand that last one). - but couldn't because it was too expensive. So he'd gotten her a coupon for one free piercing.

And finally, there was Max. Fang smiled, reaching into his pocket to hold the small, black velvet box. He hoped she would like what he had got her. It had taken him a long time to find a place that had exactly what he pictured in his head. He could hardly believe it when he finally found what he had been looking for. It was perfect.

* * *

The old man was sweeping in the back of his store, when the bell at the front door chimed. He put the broom aside and hurried out to find a young lady waiting at the register.

"Ah, Hello, little Missy. What can I do fer ya?" He asked, whistling some of his words because of the gap between his teeth.

"Er, my name's Max, I called and placed an order." She told him. The old man looked friendly and smiley. When she reminded him of her order, he picked up a clipboard, reading through the names.

"Yeppers, here ya are. Hold on just one second little Missy, I put it in the back fer ya." He explained, hobbling to a doorway that was behind the counter. When he returned, he had something that resembled a soft briefcase with him and the young lady smiled.

"Thank you." She told the man as he started ringing her up.

"No problem, little Missy. Ya like ter draw, eh?" He asked, motioning to the briefcase and the girl shook her head.

"No, this is for a friend. It's his birthday." He noticed a shy blush crept onto the girls cheeks.

"Oh? Mighty fine gift. Must be a mighty special friend." He chuckled and the girl blushed deeper. "Eh, eh, eh. 'ere ya are. Would ya like a bag?"

"Uh, yes please. A big one so I can fit these in too?" She asked, holding up her two smaller bags. The old man nodded and pulled out a large paper bag. Shaking it out, he packed up all her things and thanked her when she paid for the briefcase.

"Have a nice day." He told her with a smile. "And good luck with ya 'friend'." He chuckled again, but this time, the girl joined him.

"Thank you." She smiled and then left, carrying the large paper bag on one hip. The old man shook his head and laughed.

"Ah, Young love."

* * *

"Iggy Ride, you have outdone yourself." Max said, taking another bite of yellow cake. Naturally, for the the birthday party, Iggy had made the Flock's decided favorite: Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. And he made plenty of it. Twelve full feet of cake was carefully balance on top of the kitchen table.

"And thank you Spike for getting the ice-cream and the balloons." I stood and gave a dramatic bow as everyone chorused together "Thank you."

I had to admit it, Max was right. The kids were chocolate-smeared, happy, laughing bird-kids having a blast and the party was the perfect way to celebrate our new house, while at the same time getting everyone to relax and forget all about the recent problems. Well played, Max, well played.

"Is it present time?" Nudge asked, bouncing in her seat. "I can't wait any longer!"

"If everyone's ready." Max said, looking at everyone as they cheered happily. We all got up and pulled out bags filled with gifts as everyone tried to find a good place to sit to open presents. "Who wants to go first?" Max spoke up once everyone had settled down a bit.

"Oh, we do! We do!" Angel said as Nudge straightened, pulling out gift after gift from a backpack. Max nodded at them and they rushed to get each of our presents. They were wrapped in white copier paper that had been drawn on and twine and old shoe laces made up the bows and ribbons that would traditionally tie around the gift.

Iggy and Gazzy quickly ripped theirs open and found PVC pipe laying in their laps. They slapped high fives and started talking about how to make them into dart launchers, and suddenly, I was afraid. Max and Fang opened theirs and it was pretty damn adorable. Max got a necklace made of black leather that had eagle and hawk feathers and beads and a curved barn owl talon. Fang's necklace was made of the same black leather, but his had raven feathers, purple beads and a... fang.

"What unlucky creature did you pull this out of?" Fang questioned, examining the fang attached to his new necklace.

"I found it on the ground in Africa. Mr. Rooney said it was a black panther fang and that I was lucky to find it because black panthers are kinda rare in Chad." Angel said proudly. She was just always so full of random information.

Then I remembered to open my present. It dropped into my lap and when I picked it up, I couldn't help but smile. It was a bracelet with a bunch of mismatch, pretty beads. What really stuck out to me was the tiny charm. A hand with a swirl on it's palm.

"It's the Chinese healing hand. Because you have healing powers." Angel told me and I was really touched.

"You guys really put a lot of thought into your gifts, thank you so much." Max said, giving them a good squeeze. We all quickly agreed and Angel and Nudge wore matching grins.

"Well, I was busy making the cake, so I didn't really have time to do anything special. But I made chocolate fudge for you guys." Iggy said, passing out the small, plastic wrapped bags of fudge.

"Well, I guess I'm next." I pulled my stack of presents until they were in front of me and then started passing them out. Angel got a pink wrist-watch because for some reason it just really fit her in my mind and I was right, she loved it. I gave Gazzy a new backpack and Iggy a cook book on CD because he had mentioned wanting to try making Thai Food not to long ago. I gave Nudge a pocket-sized makeup kit and I found some really nice shower gel (fancy soap) and lotion for Max in a scent she really liked - Cashmere Glow. Sounds cheesy, but it smells really nice.

And then there was Fang. I had thought he would be the hardest to find a gift for, but turns out he was the first name checked off the list. I had passed by a certain shop and in the window had been coupons for a certain something and I saw the perfect opportunity to mess with him.

"You got me two coupons for one free piercing each?" His face was utterly confused as he stared at the pieces of paper and everyone burst out laughing.

"I think you should get a lip ring. You could totally pull it off." Total chimed in helpfully and we all laughed harder. Fang shook his head and quickly put the coupons away.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Here." He grumbled shoving the same coupon into my hands and I had to laugh at the irony. I mean, come on. We got them from the same place and everything!

We were distracted from the irony, though, when Angel opened her gift to pick up and cradle her new, shiny silver camera. Damn, Fang's loaded compared to the rest of us! And I got a stinking coupon! I guess I should stop messing with him... Nah.

After that Iggy got a scary novel on CD, Gazzy a history book on the world's bombs, Nudge got three catalogs about the latest fashions and then there was Max. She gasped when she opened the long, black velvet box Fang had given her and we all watched with baited breath as she gently took it out of the box.

A small, pink pearl was connected to a thin, golden chain on both sides, making a simple and beautiful choker necklace. Max looked over at Fang, gaping at him for such an expensive gift, but he just took it from her and carefully put it on her as she smiled at him.

"Awwwww!" Angel, Nudge and I were near tears at the most adorable scene in the history of romance. Max chuckled, but ignored us.

"I don't know how you could afford something like this, but I love it. Thank you." Max murmured and Fang smiled back.

"AWWWW!" We cooed louder. Even Gazzy and Iggy looked appreciative of the moment.

"Here." Max said, turning away from Fang to get out her presents. "I have something for you too." First thing, Max turned to us and gave us our presents.

"Thanks, Max." Iggy grinned as he took off his old, banged up sunglasses, revealing his scars for just a few moments, and then slipped on a brand new bare that were shiny and a better brand then his old ones.

"Oh, wow! No way!" Gazzy exclaimed, holding out his coupon for one free tattoo. My jaw hit the floor.

"I have to approve of the spot you get it on!" Max quickly explained to him, but that didn't lessen his ear-to-ear grin.

"Ep! Oh, Max! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nudge squealed, jumping around the family room as she hugged cereal-sized box to her chest. When she held it out at arms-length to admire it, I realized it was a homeschooling kit that she could download onto the computer so she wouldn't have to drag a bunch of books everywhere.

I looked over at Angel, noticing her strange silence and my eyes widened when I saw what she was holding. It was a heart shaped, silver locket, but two wings acted as double-doors to the inside and when she opened them, one wing after the other, there was smooth, cool silver with two words engraved in the surface: My Angel.

Angel rushed to put it on and then ran over to Max, throwing herself into her arms and smiling brightly. I picked up the camera Fang had gotten her and turned it on.

"Hey, Angel." They both looked up at me. "Say cheese." They both smiled happily and Angel held up her locket so the camera could see the flying heart and the words inscribed on the hearts center, one on top of the other.

I snapped the picture and Angel giggled, squirming in Max's lap until she was comfortable. I set the camera back down where I had found it and picked up my present. When I opened it, I grinned. It was my favorite perfume that I hadn't had in nearly two years because I either didn't have the money or it wasn't worth having while we were running for our lives.

I gave Max a hug, squishing Angel in the process and then Fang was the only one left. He raised a curious eyebrow at Max and then started to rip open the paper. Inside the wrappings was a something like a computer case - It's not hard, but it looks like a briefcase - only this was about the size of an average book and when he opened it, he smiled up at Max.

"How on earth did you know about this?" He demanded and Max shrugged.

"I have my ways." She told him, her eyes shining when she saw his approval of the gift. It was a sketch kit. One side of the case had special strings that held the sketch book down and the other half - on the left side - had pencils, pens, colored pencils and pens, charcoal, rulers, erasers and all that stuff drawers use. It was a great gift for Fang considering an entire wall in his room was covered with his sketches.

"Awww!" Angel, Nudge and I were a littler quieter this time, but Fang still rolled his eyes. He leaned over and kissed Max on the cheek and she blushed, not an act you catch either of them doing every day, and then Gazzy ruined the moment.

"Okay, everyone out on the deck! I can't give you your presents in here, something might catch on fire!" He called, running out onto the deck. Max's eyes widened and she looked at me and Fang, wondering just what the hell this kid was planning.

We all followed him out onto the deck as we were told and then Gazzy told us to watch the sky as he flew up onto the roof. We all lined up along the railing, Fang wrapping his arms around Max from behind, making her blush again.

"Okay, Max first because this was her idea." Gazzy announced. We all cheered and Gazzy flicked the lighter. Something caught fire in the darkness and after a few seconds of crackling and hissing it went Whoosh! into the sky and exploded in a reddish-pink fireball of sparks. We all murmured with excitement and amazement as the sparks fizzled, falling until they roughly formed the letter M.

"Gazzy, that's amazing!" Max told him and he grinned happily. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

He blushed modestly and quickly set out for the next one. "Okay, Fang next!"

Angel jumped to get a better look at the fireworks, but the railing was just at eye-level for her. Fang bent down and scooped her up, balancing her on one shoulder while his free hand wrapped around Max's waist. Angel laughed and cheered as the firework exploded before her.

Fang's fireball was purple, darker in the middle and lighter around the sides, and formed the letter F. Then came mine in the same light green my healing powers were, shaping into an S. Iggy's was blue and then Nudge's was bright yellow. And then finally, in the most brilliant pink you could ever imagine, was Angel's.

It was so bright, in fact, that it illuminated the darkness among the trees and revealed a black, four-wheeler jeep driving down the secret road that had been built so Dr. M, Ari, Ella and the others could come and visit us when they wanted to.

"Flock!" Max called out, just as Angel's A started to fade in the sky. "We've got company."


	10. Brewing Trouble

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 9: Brewing Trouble_**

We crouched down, staying in the shadows of the trees and deck. The three-fourths moon was bright overhead and our raptor vision easily trailed the dark jeep coming toward the house.

"Any chance it's lost? On it's way somewhere else?" I whispered, flanking Max's left side.

"Yeah." Max muttered sourly. "Sure. And I'm the Easter Bunny, spreading happiness and cheer to everyone around me." She didn't take her eyes off the jeep. "Okay everyone. Let's fan out." Max started tightly, finally looking at the rest of us. "Hide high in the trees, watch and see what happens. Check the sky for choppers and keep an eye on the jeep's sunroof. When I give the signal, we attack. Aim for the jeep's windows, smash 'em."

We all nodded silently and gathered at the edge of the roof, ready to jump down and hit the sky. Part of me was fully focused on the threat, alert and aware of everything around me, but a small part in the back of my mind couldn't help the disappointment that crawled up my spine. We had barely been at this house for a week. We had just gotten comfortable with the party and everything.

Angel's head suddenly perked up and Gazzy hissed at her to get down, but she looked over at Max, her head still poking up.

"Max, I think it's... I think it's Jeb." She cocked her head to one side and my eyes widened a bit. Jeb? What was he doing here? "Yeah, it's Jeb." Angel spoke up again, her eyes certain.

We all hesitated. Should we attack? Jeb was a weird case. It was like he changed sides every day of the week. He was constantly telling Max she could trust him, but then he would turn around and try to kill us. His shifting loyalties was hard to keep track of and I had long ago decided that Jeb had commitment issues.

"Is he alone?" Max asked quietly, breaking the silence that had settled over us as the jeep got closer.

Angel scrunched up her nose in concentration, closing her eyes, and then shook her head. "No, but I don't know who's with him. Their thoughts are all fuzzy." We all looked to our bird-girl leader, who looked deep in thought.

"Your call, Max." Fang murmured softly and Max looked up at all of us. Eventually she sighed and shook her head.

"I'm gonna regret this, but... Let's see what he wants. Keep an eye on whoever's with him, though. It isn't my mom, is it?" Max looked a little hopeful at the idea, but Angel shook her head.

"It's a boy." She informed us.

Max sighed again and nodded, jumping down from the roof to land at the front of the house. We followed after her, taking up positions behind or next to her as the jeep rolled to a stop, blinding us a bit with it's headlights. The driver's door opened and Jeb got out.

"Jeb." Max said evenly. "I take it my mom doesn't know you're here."

"Unfortunately, no. Her emotions would have clouded her judgement and she would have kept me from speaking with you. Which is the reason why I've come." Jeb walked toward us until he was within lunging distance of Max.

"And your friend who's hiding out in the car? Why is he here? Is he some killer robot? What about Mr. Chu? Or how about a cyborg assassin who's going to jump out and shoot me in the wing?" Max questioned, smirking at Jeb's annoyed expression.

Before Jeb could answer, though, the passenger side door opened and the person who stepped out was much worse then any of the previously mentioned things that had tried to kill us. It was Dr. Hack-a-Finger's apprentice: Dylan.

I settled a hard glare on him, but it went unnoticed because he was staring intently at Max. Almost like she was his prey. It was unnerving to say the least.

"What are you doing here?" Max turned back to Jeb. "And how did you get a hold of _him_? Are you and Dr. Gunta-Hubunka best buds now?"

"As I said, we need to talk, Max." Jeb told her calmly, motioning Dylan to come closer. "And Dr. Gunther-Hagen works in the same field of science as I do. We've crossed paths a few times."

"Funny." Max spat. "At dinner he said you'd never met."

I felt my fists ache from clenching so tightly, but I didn't dare let myself relax. I could feel everyone's anxiety swirling around in the air like the smoke you see right before something catches fire, and, in this case, Max throttling Jeb would be the fire. The thing was, I wasn't sure what to do when the sparks flew. Add to the flames, or try to put it out?

"Dylan, you remember the Flock." Jeb changed the subject after a hard look at Max. "Angel, the Gasman, Nudge, Iggy, Spike, Fang and Max?" He pointed to each of us.

Dylan nodded. "I'm really glad to see you all again. You're the only other ones... Like me." His eyes landed on Max again and she looked away.

"Maybe we could come in. Get caught up." It wasn't a question. Jeb was already walking closer when Max snorted.

"Give me one good reason as to why I should let you in _my_ house." Max's voice was deadly quiet and I could hear the younger kids shifting nervously behind me.

Fang was the only one brave enough to step over and rest a hand on Max's shoulder. Her eyes snapped up to look at his and for a long moment they just looked at each other, before Fang leaned down and murmured something in her ear.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever." Max growled halfheartedly as she relaxed a bit and Fang's hand slid down to wrap around her waist. He looked up at Jeb and Dylan.

"We'll put the ladder down for you." Fang said gruffly, giving them a hard, warning look. "Dylan you can just fly up like the rest of us."

I took that as my cue and turned on my heel, nodding my head towards the door. The others understood just fine and Angel and Nudge shot up, landing and waiting on the front porch. Iggy and Gazzy went a little more slowly, keeping an eye on Dylan. We all wanted to see if he was a bird-kid or an experiment. If he was an experiment, he was just another play thing that the whitecoats had corrupted and brain-washed. If he showed signs of a true bird-kid, then maybe there was still hope for him after all.

"Yeah, okay." Dylan mumbled. He set his jaw, rolled his shoulders a couple of times and then jumped into the air, flapping hard. But he hadn't prepped his wings properly and they beat irregularly for the few seconds he was in the air. He dropped back down to the ground, his wings hitting the rocks and dirt painfully. Typical newbie.

I heard barely suppressed snickering as Gazzy and Iggy flew up to the front porch, following Nudge and Angel into the warmth and light. I just shook my head.

Dylan blushed and let out a controlled breath, getting to his feet as he brushed himself off. "Not as easy as it looks." He said wryly. "I've been trying, but it's hard."

"Max taught all four of the younger kids to fly." Jeb announced, stepping between the two like he was some kind of great bridge bringing two lovers together. "Max, why don't you take a few minutes and give Dylan some pointers?" Fang chuckled, grabbing all of our attentions.

"Something funny, Fang?" I asked, curious about the new inside joke. Fang grinned lopsidedly at me.

"Go get the others, this should be fun to watch." His uneven grin didn't waver as he turned back to the other three. "No offense to you, Dylan." Fang bowed the slightest bit, doing it almost mockingly. "But Max is the best flyer in the entire Flock. So that makes her the best of an entire species. You wouldn't be able to keep up." It was a bit cold and it sounded a lot like a challenge, but it was the truth. And I agreed with Fang, one hundred percent.

Dylan seemed to pick up the double-meaning to Fang's words and stuck his chin out stubbornly. "I bet I could at least learn a thing or two." He claimed, Fang smirked wickedly.

"I'll tell Iggy to make some popcorn." With that, Fang snapped open his pitch-black wings and disappeared into the house. Within moments my raptor hearing picked up tiny, faint popping noises and muffled conversation from inside.

I shook my head again and sighed loudly. "That's one bet you're gonna regret taking, kid."

"Okay, so I guess the best place to start would be the information." Max started with a huff. I reached over and grabbed a big handful of popcorn from Angel's bowl, shoving it in my mouth as she settled herself beside me. "What kind of bird do you think you are?" Dylan gave her a blank stare.

We were all sitting on the front porch, looking over the railing and down at the scene before us. They stood a few feet apart, Max with her hands on her hips and Dylan with his hands in his pockets.

"A bird-kid?" Dylan asked and we all snickered a bit. Max shot us a glare, obviously wanting to be doing anything else.

"Yes, you are a bird-kid, but they had to give you the DNA of a bird to mix it with your human DNA. Do you have any idea what the bird could be?" Her patience was already wearing thin, not a good sign.

Dylan shrugged and Max turned, nodding up at Nudge. Nudge rested the laptop on the railing and her fingers started flying across the keyboard. Finally she looked up and called out to Max.

"The closest fit I could find is an Osprey. The brown ones have wings almost identical to Dylan's." She told her and Max gave her a thumbs up.  
"Okay, a bird of prey. Now for the second question; how much -"

"What bird are you?" Dylan interrupted, tilting his head to one side. It was like every time this kid opened his mouth the word Newbie flashed in my brain.

"I'm a mixed breed. I have Peregrine Falcon and Barn Owl DNA." Max explained with renewed patience. I guess she felt some pity for the kid.

"And you flew here? All the way from Africa? You didn't need a plane to get across the ocean or anything?" He continued with his questions and Max nodded. "Wow, that's so amazing." He breathed, looking at her with open admiration. "I can't believe how strong you are."

Max shifted uncomfortably for a second before shaking her head and scratching the back of it. "Well, I am the Maximum Ride. The biggest freak of them all."

He smiled. "I guess that makes me a beginner-level freak."

"Yep, pretty much. So, back to flying." Max started again, taking a deep breath. "Flying is...amazing. It feels better then anything else in the world when you're doing it. It's fun and exciting. Pure freedom. There's nothing better."

Dylan's eyes shone just like the kids' had when they heard this speech a few years ago. No one could deny it, Max was a natural born leader. Encouraging speeches came easily to her, she always knew what was best for everyone and she always put the Flock ahead of herself.

"So the first thing we're going to do." Max told him. "Is push you off the roof."

Dylan visibly paled and gulped as Max watched him expectantly. The guys snickered loudly with each other and started teasing.

"Come on, man, you're not scared, are you?" Fang called out, grinning wickedly.

"Seriously, dude, Angel did it when she was five!" Iggy told him, howling with laughter.

"But that's probably because Max promised to catch her if she fell. I doubt Max will catch you so you'd better get it on your first try!" Gazzy said helpfully. All three of them were doubled-over with laughter.

Dylan got a determined look in his eye and straightened, trying to look tall as he followed Max to the house. Oh, this ought to be good.

* * *

"How did it go?" Jeb asked when we came in half an hour later, putting his newspaper to the side and standing up from the couch.

"Great!" Dylan reported enthusiastically as I went to get some ice for the bruises on his... everywhere. "Max is a great teacher."

"Well, it looks like she pushed you down a rocky slope." Jeb said, eying Max accusingly.

"I did not!" Max defended herself. "I pushed him off the roof!"

Jeb grumbled a bit, but said nothing. Instead he changed the subject. "Total has been filling me in." He gestured to the small dog surfing through Tv channels. "And I see you all turned a year older today."

"Mm-hm." Max replied absently as she cut herself another slice of cake and perched on the sofa arm to eat it. "So are we gonna dance around for a few days before you tell me why you're really here, or can we just do it now? As you can see, I have a lot of cleaning up to do and I'd rather do it _after_ kicking you out."

"I missed you." Jeb lied through his teeth. I wasn't a mind reader like Angel, but I knew bullshit when I heard it. "And I want Dylan to stay with you. Being with the Flock is exactly what Dylan needs. Already, in half an hour, you've taught him more then he's learned in the past eight months."

"So how did you get a hold of him?" Max demanded. "I thought he belong to Dr. Hunca-Munca. Did you just ask the doc if you could borrow him for a field trip?"

"I'm standing right here." Dylan spoke up, sounding irritated. "But that's okay. Talk about me like I'm not." He crossed his arms over his chest and Jeb looked at him in surprise, but no one except me seemed to notice that tiny glint in Dylan's eye.

"That's the tricky part, Jeb." Max said snidely. "You guys are always stunned when your little creations, your science projects, turn out to have minds of their own. To want to do stuff on their own instead of falling into line for whatever you have planned for them!"

"I didn't create Dylan!" Jeb argued.

"But you brought him here so our skills would rub off on him, right? What about our skills of disobedience? Independence? Our inability to live in _cages_!" Max's voice had been rising and the tension from earlier was suddenly back, suffocatingly thick inside the house. "What if all _that_ rubs off on him?" Max wanted to know.

"I got you out of those cages!" Jeb snapped his defense.

"You're also the one who put us in those cages in the first place!" Her hands were curled into tight fists at her sides. "You always seem to forget that part!"

"And you always seem to forget that I saved your lives!" Jeb yelled. I had never seen him so angry. None of us had. "Not just once, but over and over again! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead right now! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be alive in the first place!"

"I wonder which one of us regrets that more, huh, _Dad_." She snarled quietly.

We were all frozen in shock. None of us even thought to stop Max as she ran out the door and took off into the cold, night air.

**AN:** Hey, guys! To be honest I almost forgot to post my weekly update today. Anyways, I really hope you liked this chapter - it's perfect for Dylan-haters - but the real reason I bashed Dylan a bit in this chapter was because I wanted to show the difference between a Whitecoat raised experiment and a free, independent mutant. It's a very important difference that you'll see more and more of as we work through the last three books. I hope you liked it! R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	11. Running Away From The Pain

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 10: Running Away From The Pain_**

My wings snapped open and I shot up into the air. My head was pounding, I wanted to scream with frustration and it felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing a ten-foot knife into my back right between my wings.

I poured on the super speed, wanting nothing more then to get as far away from Jeb as possible. I knew I shouldn't have left the Flock, but I needed some time. Time to pull myself together and be the leader they need.

_"Time is something you don't have."_ The Voice filtered through the pounding and the shrieking thoughts swirling through my head. I growled and shot up higher, streaking through the clouds. I felt my hands twitch as my finger nails grew longer, sharper.

_"Get back to the house, now. There's no time for your silly little tantrum."_ I let out a weird mix between a snarl and a scream as I flipped and dive-bombed towards the forest floor.

The clouds were cold and wet, dampening my hair and feathers, the night air sent shivers down my spine, but I felt like I was on fire. On the edges of my vision I could see flashes of corpses and blood, so I kept looking forward. If I looked back the memories would catch up to me. I would drown in my worst mistakes and lose myself again.

_"Your past is your future, Maximum. The amazing things you accomplished back at the School are just the beginning. It's time you realized your destiny."_ Jeb continued firmly and I couldn't shake him off.

I shook my head, my eyes stinging horribly. "No. no..." I choked out. That's when my wings gave out and I plummeted five feet to the top of a tree. I fell through the branches and hit several large limbs of the tree before finally smacking the ground with my side, rocks and twigs digging into my skin.

I rolled over onto my other side, exposing deep cuts and bleeding scrapes to the cold night air. I gingerly pulled out a particularly sharp, long rock from one of my cuts and threw it to the side. I turned my head to inspect my injuries more, but the smell stopped me. The bitter tang smell that was all too familiar.

Of all the adventures we had as a Flock, of all the wounds and bleeding injuries, none of them had affected me like this. This time, that smell brought flashes of vision. Memories, regrets, the second chance I didn't deserve, the rain.

_"Max, I am giving you an order!"_ Jeb's strained patience split through my subconscious mind.

"Shut up!" I shrieked, sending birds fluttering out of the trees even this late at night. The next thing I knew, I was running. All I could think about was getting away. Out running the memories, the whitecoats, the experiments, the pain. Nothing mattered, except getting away. I had to escape before it swallowed me whole.

I don't know how long I ran, just that I ripped through bushes and jumped off the side of several trees to make a sharp turn, cutting up my arms and hands. I ran through mud, splashing up to my thighs with droplets of mud and dirty water as I raced through the thick mud-puddle. I ran past a tree that was being climbed by the vines of a thorn bush and one tendril of spikes was hanging down in the middle of my path. I ducked out of the way, for the most part, but I did get caught by five thorns from the middle of my cheek and up to my ear.

I didn't stop though. I kept running, not knowing where I was going. Part of me thought of how alike my sprint through the forest and my actual life were, but the problem was I wasn't sure if that was my sane self, or the self that had gone mad years ago in the Arena.

Suddenly my foot got snagged by a tree root sticking out of the ground and I tripped, falling face-first into the dirt. I didn't move. But my mind was still racing. There was so much chaos and confusion spinning and billowing inside me, that I just didn't even have the strength to move.

_"You have to get up! The Flock needs you!"_ A little voice, barely audible among all the noise, managed to be heard. I could have sworn the voice sounded at least a little bit like Angel. Or maybe it was the Gasman? Or Nudge? Iggy or Spike, maybe? Or was it Fang? Did they want me back? Did they need me?  
I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees and looked ahead. Through the trees I could see the abandoned logging road that led to our house. I was about a hundred miles away, but I could clear that distance with just a minute of super speed flying.

_"Go back, Max. They need you!"_ My arms almost gave out from under me when I heard that. My Flock needed me? Why? What could I possibly be good for?

I wasn't pure and innocent like Angel or Gazzy. I couldn't cook anything like Iggy and my fashion sense was zero when I stood next to Nudge. Spike had powers that could help people, heal them. I could never do that. And Fang. Fang was my second-in-command for a reason. If anything ever happened to me, I knew he could step up. He could be the leader. What was I compared to all of them?

Nothing. I was numb, that's it. That's all I was. Just an empty shell that could barely feel anything anymore.

I looked down at my hands, scratched and filthy. Why didn't I feel pain from those scratches? Or aches from the bruises that were forming? Why didn't I shiver at the cold? Was it cold? I couldn't be sure. I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel anything. I was numb.

And somehow that hurt more then any feeling ever could.

* * *

A creak from the hallway made his head snap up. It's not like he saw anything, but it was a reflex from when he was younger. Before the experiment. He heard the door open and close and recognized the smell almost immediately.

"Angel?" Iggy whispered into the darkness and tiny feet thumped over to him. Tiny hands reach up and gripped his sleeves, so he reached down and settled Angel on his lap as he sat up in bed.

Spike had sent them to bed hours ago, but Iggy hadn't been able to sleep. He guessed that the same thing plagued Angel's thoughts too.

Before he could open his mouth to talk, the door opened a second time and shut just as quietly as it did the first. Two heartbeats had joined the chorus of Angel's and his own. He heard a sniffle and nodded his head back to beckon the new visitors over.

"I guess you guys couldn't sleep either?" Iggy asked as Gazzy and Nudge climbed onto the bed with Angel and him.

"Hm-Mm." Nudge sniffled again and Iggy sighed.

"She'll be okay guys. Max is strong and smart, she'll be back real soon." He told the three, but they didn't move. Not that he expected them to. Even with the comforting words he knew were facts, he couldn't bring himself to sleep.

"What's gonna happen when Max gets back? Will she and Jeb start fighting again?" Gazzy wanted to know.

"I don't want Max to leave again." Angel whimpered from Iggy's lap.

"And Spike and Fang haven't said anything to us since Max left, besides telling us 'it's time for bed'." Nudge sounded close to tears.

"Everything's going to be okay, guys. Max will be home by morning and she'll have a smile on her face and she'll tell all of us that she didn't mean to worry us." Iggy smiled lightly.

"I hope so." Angel whispered worriedly. Gazzy and Nudge murmured their agreements.

* * *

"I'm going out to look for her." Fang stood up so abruptly from his seat at the kitchen table that his chair tipped over behind him as he strode towards the door. Spike stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Fang, if you go looking for her now it'll worry the kids, give her some more time. She's just blowing off some steam, that's all." She reminded him.

"It's been four hours! She should be back by now!" Fang hissed, but let go of the door knob anyways.

"I know you're worried, we all are, but we've got to stay here and look after the Flock. For Max." Spike said, keeping her voice low so she wouldn't wake the kids.

Fang took a deep, controlled breath and slowly relaxed his fists. "If she's not back by morning I'm going to go look for her." He told Spike, his gaze stubborn and solid. Spike gave him a sharp nod.

"And I won't stop you."

* * *

I blinked a few times, my eyelashes fluttering as I tried to fix my vision. I groaned as a splitting headache made it's way through my nervous system. I ached all over and it was extremely hard to force myself into a sitting position. And when I finally did, I wished I hadn't.

I twisted to the side as quick as I could, making myself even more dizzy then I already was, and threw up into a patch of weeds and a very unlucky bush. Memories of the night before came back in painful flashes. I remembered dragging myself to a tree after just standing around on all fours for a while. I had curled up and must have fallen asleep.

I spat out the rest of my puke and used the tree beside me as a support as I got to my feet. Looking at myself I almost groaned again. How I looked just confirmed how I felt: Like Crap.

I stretched my wings out, even though they screamed in protest the whole time, and somehow managed to get myself in the air. I flew slow, not wanting my wings to give out again, and started in the direction of the house.

I couldn't believe I'd been out all night. I had set a horrible example for the kids and Fang and Spike were probably going to kill me the second I walked through the door.

As I drew closer to the house I got a few wisps of something strange. I dismissed it as my nose playing tricks on me after a long night. But as I came within fifteen miles of the house, I could smell the smoke.

I didn't stop to look surprised, shot forward, rushing back to my Flock. I swooped down onto the front porch and crashed into the door, slamming it open. I took about three running steps to steady myself before looking up at the scene before me.

Our couch was on fire. Jeb hurried in from the kitchen with a big mixing bowl, Angel was right behind him with a juice pitcher, and they threw the water that was inside said objects on the fire, barely making a dent in the flames.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I shouted, but I didn't wait for an answer. I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the red cylinder out of the corner. "Any of you ever hear of a fire extinguisher?" I demanded, letting the red can drop to the floor when I was done putting out the fire.

"MAX!" Angel and Nudge came running over and almost tackled me to the floor as they squeezed me in tight hugs. "We were so worried!" Angel cried.

"We thought you might have been taken by M-Geeks or something!" Nudge sobbed, tears and snot running down their faces in streams. Even Gazzy and Iggy looked shaken from my night-long disappearance.

I didn't even know where to start. Someone had to get punished for the couch being set on fire, I had to clean up the house from the fire and the party, I had to comfort the kids and apologize for my behavior, I had to track down Spike and Fang, I had to make sure Total and Akila were okay too, I had to call my mom and make sure she was okay and ask her to come help deal with Jeb. There was just so many things that needed to get done and then there was still the mission to worry about. There was always the mission.

I shook my head to try and get through the jumble of thoughts and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Where's Fang and Spike?" I asked over the millions of statements and questions the kids were throwing at me while Iggy just stood by watching.

"He said he was going to look for you, but I can hear his voice somewhere outside. And Spike went to find Dylan. No one's seen him." Iggy informed me quickly and I nodded a thanks to him.

Just then, to complete my oh-so-perfect morning, the fire alarm went off and the automatic sprinklers started, finally detecting the put-out-fire and soaking us and everything with cold water.

"Okay." I said, trying really hard to keep the anger-frustration feeling out of my voice. "I'm going to track down the two who were supposed to be watching you guys. Meanwhile, you four can work on a good story to tell me about how the couch caught on fire!"

All four of them nodded vigorously as I trudged to the open front door. Iggy was right, I could hear Fang's voice nearby. I could also hear Dylan's. I jumped down from the front porch and walked around the side of the house. There, standing out of the view of the road and any windows of the house, was the imbecile I was looking for and the human Ken doll. Fang and Dylan were both tense as... well, me on a bad day. Which just so happened to be today.

"This is bigger then you and what you want." Dylan's voice was ice cold. I didn't really think he knew how to be cold. He was supposed to be an innocent eight-month-old beginner. Real shocker that he's not what he seems, huh? "I'm telling you, the danger is real!"

"And why should I believe you? We don't know anything about you." Fang snarled. I won't lie, it was kinda scary.

"I get that, Fang." Dylan said, looking him in the eye. "But what matters is that _I_ know a lot about _her_. Probably even more then you do."

A shadow of dark fury passed over Fang's face and he took a threatening step towards Dylan. I probably could have seen the first ever bird-kid, boy fight in history if I hadn't bolted forward, my feet crunching on the gravel and dirt.

"Fang!" Their eyes snapped to me. Dylan looked taken aback, Fang looked angry and shut off. But then he _really_ looked at me.

He lunged forward, meeting me halfway and wrapped his arms around me in a death-grip. "Where the hell have you been? And what happened to you?" He demanded, eyes angry and worried, but still strong.

I shoved him off, shooting him a glare. "Did it matter to either of you that the house was on _fire_ a second ago?" I yelled at them. Dylan looked at me startled, Fang sniffed the air and comprehension dawned on his features as he smelled the smoke.

"There you are!" Spike fluttered into a landing, coming from the gorge. It took her about two seconds to see me and read the looked on my face. She slapped Fang's arm. "What did you do?"

"Thank you, Spike, but could you just... Go make sure the kids don't light anything else fire." I exhaled a heavy breath and Spike nodded, flying around the corner to the deck quietly. "And as for you two..."

"Is everyone okay?" Dylan asked stiffly as I turned to glower at the both of them. I ignored him.

"I'm sure you had some super important and crucial reason for being out here instead of inside when the living room was going up in flames right over your heads!" I snapped.

"I was going to look for you!" Fang shot back, his eyes darting over cut after cut that lined my arms and one side.

"We were talking about you." Dylan blurted out. My eyes shot daggers at him and he shrank back a little.

"I don't really care what you were doing. End it. Before I have to separate you two like a couple of two-year-olds." Both of them were silent, so I continued. "I have a lot to do right now, I don't need this on my plate as well. Now you can either kiss and makeup, or avoid each other at all costs, just don't make it into a problem."

And then I left them there, stalking back around to the front of the house and flying up to the front porch. The door was still open, so I couldn't burst into the room to let off some steam. When I walked in, the kids scurried into the kitchen, reading my face like a picture book. Spike leaned against the door-frame, watching and waiting to help or pull me off of the next person who pissed me off.

"Good job taking off like that, Max." I swung my head around to scowl at Jeb. His face was smeared with a bit of soot and his voice was terse. "You can't just leave them on their own. And you can't just run away from problems every time you're upset."

"Go jump off the deck." I growled, my voice so low that I could see the strain Spike had to use to hear it. "You have no right to judge me! None at all! _You_ left _us_! _You_ betrayed _us_!"

"Let bygones be bygones, Max. I know we've had our differences, but we should put them behind us. For the good of the Flock." Jeb gestured to the disaster of the ruined couch. "This clearly isn't working. You need help. I think I should come back and live here. Take up where I left off."

I positively gaped at him. "You must be joking!" I exclaimed. "You think I'd trust _you_, even for a second, with _my_ Flock? Ha! Barely two months ago you were constantly going on about how 'I should leave the Flock behind, the Flock was slowing the mission down'. Well, _forget_ it! There is no way you will ever live in this house like one of us!"

"You haven't done much better!" Jeb opened his arms to motion to the whole room. "Look at this place! Not to mention how the other kids must be feeling alienated now that you and Fang have become your own cozy Flock of two!"

I blushed, Spike pushed off the wall - ready to come to my defense - and Angel ran in, standing next to Spike and squinting at Jeb. I didn't even wonder why that had gotten Angel's attention, I was too angry to notice much of anything.

"We never intended for that to happen." Jeb's voice had lowered substantially, but what he said just sent me over the edge.

"You know what Jeb, why don't you and the rest of your whitecoat friends just go fuck yourselves? Because I will never take orders from you or anyone else. And you don't even get to pick what socks I wear, much less anything else!"

"You're not making good decisions, Max." Jeb's voice held a note of quiet intensity. "You're being run by your heart, not your head. That isn't how I brought you up."

"You brought me up in a _dog crate!_" I shouted as loud as I could. "Those days are over! _Forever_."

**AN:** Hey guys, I hope you liked the chapter! Gotta run, really busy weekend, and sorry I didn't post yesterday like I was supposed to. Super busy weekend! R&REVIEW! -Owl.


	12. Man Of The House

**_Maximum Ride - Episode 11: Man Of The House_**

I had nightmares that night. I dreamed of memories from the Arena. I dreamed of Fang and Dylan trying to kill each other. I dreamed of Spike getting experimented on. I dreamed of Erasers shoving the kids into dog crates. There was nothing I could do to stop any of it.

I woke with a start and then closed my eyes, sighing heavily. It felt like I'd been drugged and from the amount of light flooding in through my window I could tell it was almost lunch time. I slowly pushed myself up, wincing at soreness in my muscles.

I placed my bare feet on the floor and stood up. I padded out the door and down the hall, the smell of smoke and charred couch becoming stronger as I got closer to the living room. When I reached the end of the hall, I stopped in surprise.

It was almost empty, all the soiled furniture was gone and all the water had been mopped up. Nudge was on a stool, spraying the ceiling with cleaner, and Gazzy was cleaning the windows.

I walked into the kitchen, without a word, and was shocked for a second time within five minutes of waking up. Iggy was washing dishes and loading the dishwasher and Angel was sitting at the table with a piece of paper and a pencil, writing some kind of list. The third surprise of the day was the person sitting at the table with her.

"Ari?" I asked, eyes widening as I looked at his gravity-defying hair.

"Max!" Ari grinned, standing and giving me a tight hug. I hugged him back and then stared at him for a moment before finally finding my voice.

"How -What are you doing here?" I managed, smiling at him as he motioned me to take a seat across from him. As soon as I sat down, Iggy came by and put a mug down on the table right in front of me and Angel showed me her list.

"Fang got up real early and put us all to work." Angel told me. "I made a list for the store." She said proudly.

"Yeah, I got here about an hour ago and Fang was loading that big black truck with Jeb and that new kid, Dylan, right?" Ari looked at us and Angel nodded. "Well, anyways, I left home at four in the morning to get here at a decent hour. I ran."

My eyes widened again at that. "You ran? Like in wolf form?"

"Mm-Hm. I came because Mom wanted to make sure you guys were settling in okay, but the networks been down for the past three days. No one in our neighborhood has internet, cable or phones that work." He informed us. "I see you had a welcoming party." He didn't look very happy and I could understand why.

"Yeah. It's been just peachy." I said through my teeth, inspecting what was inside the mug with the spoon. It was hot-chocolate with whipped-cream and chocolate drizzle on top and one of those fancy straw cookies that don't actually work, but they make you feel fancy and they taste good.

"Sorry. If I had known I would have come sooner." Ari hung his head sadly.

"No, Ari, they showed up just two days ago and no one could do anything to keep me and Jeb from fighting." I reassured him. "So, did Fang really do all of this?"

"Yep!" Angel chirped, bouncing in her chair beside me. Ari chuckled.

"He told us to make a grocery list while waiting for you to wake up. He was very clear with his instructions. No one was allowed to wake you up and now that you're awake we have to fill you in on whats been happening." Ari grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Angel giggled and I blushed.

"Anyways." Iggy stepped in, drying his hands on a towel. "Fang, Dylan and Jeb are loading up the truck with the old furniture. He didn't want either of them out of his sight in case they tried to disturb you or something. And Spike is outside too, drying off anything that wasn't completely ruined when the sprinklers went off. Fang said that you and him would go into town to drop the old furniture at the dump and pick up the groceries. We're out of food."

"Wow. Um, okay. I guess you guys can keep doing whatever it is Fang had you doing. I'm just gonna go see whats going on outside. Thanks for the in-tell." I was kind of in a daze as I stood up, taking my mug of hot-chocolate with me. Iggy, Ari and Angel all gave me weird smiles as I left the kitchen, confused, and then Nudge and Gazzy gave me the same smiles when I passed them to head out the front door.

I looked down from the front porch. Spike was off to the side with an extension-cord and a blow-dryer, drying books and such that could be salvaged. Meanwhile Fang was in the bed of the pick-up truck, tying down the ruined sofa as Jeb and Dylan shook the water out of smaller items and chucked them in. Fang and Dylan were careful not to look at each other.

I jumped down, using my wings to make my landing softer so I wouldn't splash hot-chocolate and whipped-cream all over myself. I stayed as quiet as possible as I walked towards the truck, listening to what they were saying and nodding a greeting at Spike when she noticed me.

"Get that lamp, Dylan." Jeb ordered, leaning over to take it from him once he held it up. "The dump said they'd take anything."

"I wonder if they take reject scientists, too." I mused out loud, shooting a glare at Jeb as Fang jumped down from the truck bed, his eyes on me.

"Hey, if you guys are done there why don't you help me drag all this stuff back into the house?" Spike waved at us and Jeb started toward her.

"Dylan why don't you double-check the cables? Once you're done there you can come help us." Jeb suggested and Dylan got to work like a good little experiment.

As soon as Jeb turned his back, Fang's arms were wrapped around my pajama-clad self and his lips were on mine. I kissed back, feeling warm against him, and when we broke apart my breathing was a bit faster then before.

"Good morning, beautiful." Fang murmured in my ear and I wriggled in his arms, wrinkling my nose.

"Yeah right. Even if that were true, I wouldn't believe you. Not when I wake up this late." I snorted at him, but rested my head on his chest.

"It is true, Max." Fang's voice was soft and his breath was warm as it washed over my ear. "You just can't see it like I can." He spoke confidently and I looked up at him, raising one eyebrow at him.

"I doubt that." I rolled my eyes once I realized he wasn't just kidding around. He wrapped one arm around me tighter and the other one lifted my chin so I would look him in the eyes.

"You are beautiful." He informed me and then he chuckled, his eyes twinkling with an idea. "You're my Prettybird." He grinned lopsidedly at me and I blushed a light pink.

"Haha, you're quite the wit." My sarcasm didn't faze him.

"I'm not joking." He kissed my forehead. "You're my Prettybird." He repeated, but this time a little more seriously and my blush deepened. Fang leaned in and captured my lips again.

"If you two don't mind." A voice interrupted and we pulled apart to look up at Dylan. "There's still a lot of work to do." He glared at Fang a little, but you could tell he was hesitant about it after yesterday.

"No, Dyl, we don't mind at all. You finish up your half of the work and then we'll do the rest when we go into town." Fang shrugged and then his lips were on mine again.

Part of me wanted to pull away and smack him for being such a smart-ass, but it'd been almost two weeks since the last time Fang and I had really kissed. A few pecks here and there had been it and after all the stress of the past few days, it felt really good just to let Fang hold me up and kiss me senseless.

So, I kissed back, running my fingers greedily through his dark hair as his hands slowly slid from my waist, down to my hips and around to grip my -!

A loud cough ruined the moment and we broke apart, breathing hard. Fang grinned down at me and placed a lingering kiss on my neck, just below and right behind my ear.

"I'll finish up here. You go get dressed and we can pick up lunch for everyone on our way back." He winked at me and I huffed a little. I could feel his fingertips just above my, well, butt, to put it bluntly. "We'll finish this later." He promised and pecked my lips three more times before finally letting me go.

I started walking towards the house just as Jeb finished climbing down the ladder, perfect timing, and we passed each other without getting into another argument, so the day had obviously started extremely well.

When I walked into the living room Spike, Iggy, Gazzy, Ari, Nudge and Angel were all smiling at me and waiting for me. I slowed to a stop and looked at them, to which they responded with wider grins.

"You and Fang were getting pretty hot out there, weren't you?" Spike finally elbowed me a couple of times in the arm as she winked. I flushed.

"You were spying on us?" I demanded, turning my wrath onto the kids.

"Well, we wanted to see what mom and dad did when they were alone." Iggy snickered and Gazzy tilted his head to the side, confused by all the dirty talk going on.

"Okay, enough! Let's play a game before any of you come up with any more comments." I decided, my face was probably as red as a cherry by that point.

"Actually I have several, but they wouldn't have the fun reactions from you as it would from Fang." Iggy's eyebrows wiggled and his grin was devious.

"Okay, talking time-out for you!" I exclaimed, giving him a good smack to the back of the head. They all just laughed as I stalked to the closet to pull out the few boardgames we had.

Fifteen minutes later I was properly dressed and Gazzy was holding his breath, cheeks puffed up, belly pushed out and his arms at his sides.

"Puffer fish!" Angel guessed from my lap. Gazzy shook his head.

"Blister!" Iggy tried, poking Gazzy's cheek. Again, no.

"Knish?" Total stated it as more of a question then anything else, but it was still a guess. Gazzy shook his head and I chuckled.

"Okay, we give up." I announced. "What are you, Gaz?"

Gazzy let his breath rush out of him. "A grain of rice cooking!" He said. "Obviously. Because I started out small and skinny and then got bigger and bigger!"

"How on earth would we ever know to guess that?" Nudge asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's the point of the game, kiddo." Spike laughed and I chuckled with her.

"Good one, Gazzy." I told him as he sat down. "Okay, who's next? Ari?"

"I've already gone. You and Spike are the only ones left who haven't taken a turn." Ari pointed out and I looked at Spike who shrugged.

"Come on, Max!" Angel begged and everyone joined her almost immediately.

"Alright, alright." I sighed, shaking my head slightly as I got to my feet and started thinking of what I could be. It would have to be something really good and entertaining...

Before I could start pretending to be a turtle, a high-pitched keening noise ripped through my eardrums and we all crouched on the floor, trying to cover our ears. Ari even morphed into a wolf as he writhed around on the floor, clawing at his sensitive ears.

A small ball crashed through the window, breaking the glass, and bounced to the middle of the room, between me and the others. Before any of us could register what it was, the ball exploded and pink smoke filled the room. Everyone started coughing, almost retching from the noxious smell, and my eyes watered until my vision was blurred and fuzzy.

I tried to pull myself up off the floor, but it was hard when I was kneeling in the middle of the gas cloud. I was holding up my torso with one hand and one elbow, trying hard to stop coughing.

"Max!" I heard Spike call from somewhere through the smoke, but her voice was hoarse from the coughing.

I staggered to my feet and stumbled as fast as I could to one side of the room to get out of the smoke. When I made it out of the cloud I was against the wall across the room from the table and I could hear the others rustling in the kitchen, trying to get the tickle out of their throats.

I leaned back against the wall to catch my breath, but I stiffened when I heard the gravely chuckling and saw four huge, hulking figures walking through the gas toward me.

"Dinnertime!" One of the figures partly emerged from the smoke, snapping his gas-mask covered jaws as he spoke. I heard smashing glass and breaking wood and Total and Akila's barking and Angel and Nudge's screaming.

I steeled myself. Ready to face all four of these guys head-on, but as the sounds of fighting and yelling got louder, more figures made their way through the smoke. The Erasers wolfish faces were split into yellow-toothed grins and their eyes glinted mercilessly with the excitement of the hunt.

"Time to go back in your cage, little birdie." The Erasers growled and laughed. The first one lunged and I managed to dodge to one side and connect my elbow to the back of his neck, but a second one was right behind him and slammed a fist into my gut. I doubled-over his fist and violently lost the little I had to eat that day.

A third came from the side and shoved me to the side with his mass of a shoulder. I bounced off the floor twice and rolled over three times before I finally came to a stop. I pushed myself up onto my elbows, coughing as I got a big inhale of the pink smoke. The first Eraser growled angrily as he stepped up beside me, rubbing his neck where I had hit, and then kicked me in the side. I flipped over onto my back and he stomped down on my stomach, twisting his foot back and forth to clean the bottom of his boot on my shirt.

"Little bitch." He spat and some of his spit landed on my cheek. "You're lucky the boss wants to see you, or I'd have some fun of my own right now." I suppressed a shiver, trying not to think about what he meant by that, and instead focused on the gun he had raised and was aiming straight at me.

"Say goodnight, Birdie."

I heard a muffled pop and pain exploded in my neck. I cried out and went to pull out whatever was stuck in my neck, but two more Erasers pinned my arms with the boots, crushing my wrists and forearms underneath the heavy builds. It felt like they were going to break my arms.

"MAX!" Someone screamed, but my vision had already tunneled and was quickly fading into black. I tried to speak, despite the pain it brought to breath when an Eraser's foot was jammed into my stomach.

"I'm coming..." I croaked and the Erasers laughed at me.

"You hear that boys? 'She's coming'!" They laughed harder. I struggled against the feet holding me down, but they were too strong. And I was too weak.

I gasped one final breath, and then my vision left completely.

**AN:** DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUN! Haha! Hey guys! So this is the first chapter in a while that I've been able to post without having to rush off somewhere. Lets take a moment to enjoy it... Okay, we're done with that. So, I hope you guys really enjoyed the chapter! R&REVIEW to find out what happens next! -Owl.


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